This is all OLD work and UNEDITED work. This is for those who refer to this blog for guidance while in their MFA programs to see some of the ways I was able to take on tasks during my two year experience. This blog was originally created for my MFA and now I am using it as an artist blog.
My first photo Assignments
First Photo Assignments
-two weeks photograph every time I put my shoes on in the morning and take them off at night
interesting subject matter and tell a lot about a person
- what would i photograph with? phone camera? perverse if using the camera body that allows you to slow down.
- set camera at tripod with set frame and cable release
- what will be interesting is the encounter with the rules…what will satisfy you
-black and white photos and then printing and adding white paint to them
oil will eat into the print……acrylic and matte medium - photo paints….
make multiple prints of the same subject to alter
- where do I take notes at meetings, etc. photograph that room or space and college the doodles onto of the photograph
- using notes as the printing paper. contempt messes with images of reproduction. going back and forth until the confusion of the hand made and mechanically reproduced images.
- conceptual artist in the 70s see the movement. 6 years, the dematerialization of art by lucy lapard. records al the acts within a six year period of contemporary arts
- silence by john cage
- goal by creating silence within music - reawakening on how to engage life within the arts and create an audience.
- book about conceptual art and its origins and where does it stand or influence people now.
- photograph all the things i Have come to look at differently after dads death, the tactility that i feel with nature and breathing
- using the camera to slow down and look at the small things i relate to. take a video? hour walk, timer, stop and photograph what is there. same walk.
robert gober - installation
how can i use the magazines to put out my hate\love for this time. burn one each day and photograph it. is this a sacred ritual that will leave yu with some kind of redemption.
what can't i just sit and comtimplate because i will have everything come back to hit me in the face….why is that
- propasal experiment review and repropose.
amy jenkins - look her up.
alison williams
-tracy emin - shocking exhibitions
how do you break down those conventions - breaking completely away from the photograph
richard long - land scape artist in Britain
land art movement and action of performance art that leave a photograph of the work.
joseph beuys
sigma polke
Dieter roch
deb toddwheeler
katherine opi
errol mars
abstract expressionist rothko….collective unconsious conceptual work….reading poetry and focusing on a couple lines to create that work.
write storied for the work……
calle, sophie - the woman who's book was written
can i change someones life by doing a daily activity and documentary a type of action that i document the affect on peoples lives. putting notes in the car hi i see you everyday and how are you today.
book ann tyler - morgans passing…… possibly - guy who pretends to be different people.
Grad Seminar 6/28/13 Notes
Grad Seminar 6.28.13
reading handout about frances bacon by
sense is the index which leads to the sensation.
force will create other sensations.
exploring the deep reaction towards a certain event or effect. what makes you scream deep down inside, how can you present that emotion
how do you paint the sac of potatoes? you dissect it and put it back together to feel the weight of that object
trying to create the force in which creates the emotion. What makes us scream, what kind of material particles comes into our mind that creates that reaction. smudging the face in the scream allows the presentation of that force.
the choices here are "darker" emotions and illusions. but this does not mean that this process is only obtained through out that emotional level.
what means togheterness, happiness, what kind of illustrations would you create as you pick it apart. tears= utter joy or happiness.
bacon paints the horror and the scream differently- scream captures an invisible force. really attempting to capture the invisible forces that make one scream.
art history run down.
some of this primitive art is extremely creative because of the fact that it is made through word of mouth. people had not seen these animals or pleas and they just simply created their images based on word of mouth. this is talking about an imagination that is intriguing or desirable form this time.
chpels and religious relics have been stepping towards being taller, raising to the clouds and connecting with the gods. The chapels become more intricate and delicate with spaces to develop these relics and places to reach god or saints. they stepped away from the exact beauty the roman style representation of the body and proportions and focused on the drapes and not the figure. chapels became more open and more doors to connect with that sense.
black plaque starts to take lives and a sense of darkness came into the work. after witch trials begin to be present and the relation to the "devil"
medical culture. the idea of wounds and "ugliness" is dominant in culture and presented through art to show that type of dark place. the creation of the unknown is the monsters, hell, the devil. figure is still symbolic in this period.
renaissance
wealth starts to rise within the arts and patrons give back to the arts. their starts to become a rationality within christianity and faith and how we connect to the natural world. Not focusing on the outside world. or religious world. shift in humanism did not mean that they were not interested in religion but exploring the human ability to reach a hierarchy in oneself. gothic cities all wanted the largest cathedral back in the medieval day
still telling a story but telling a more precise story about a greater time. more control over the subject matter and material, more precise.
perspective, depth, form, proportions, fabrics all begin to take change within thirty years. starts to gear towards the human world and relation to anatomy and represented the natural world instead of using the symbols and icons that are not in the human form. bringing it back to reality.
frescos begin to come a part of the time. they are experimenting with painting and removing away from sculpture form and brining frescos into the space and on the exterior of the space. using the space for story telling and how to paint for the viewers size.
the individual is important and connected to the church and so portraits were made and represented within the portraits of the land that they owned showing money and wealth.
-painting started to become more expressive and expressing violence.
start to encounter the making of the printing press which allows ideas to spread more easily throughout the times.
Baroque is the use of image in the form of propaganda. trying to evoke emotions within the viewer to bring them back to the church. using theatricalities and out of the form of propaganda to develop a real personal emotion throughout the use of lights and darks within the paintings. brining it back into the viewers space.
begins to reintroduce movement and engagement of space within the person and art. Hellenistic view or attempt.
rococo-indivudal access than the access of the state
french revolution kills ties of state and culture or connection with the church. allows the individual to embark on their own personal journey.
timeline
-greek and roman art/artchitecture
-classical art.
-medival arts
-renaissance art
-baroque art/rococo/neoclassical/romantic
Grad Seminar Notes 6/26/13
Grad Seminar 6.26.13
Anna D'Alleva reading from LFA readings and the Methods and Theories of Art History
Iconography and Iconology
Iconology is looking in a larger context, culture and history within a piece aside from just icons represented within a piece.
culture= the viewer the author the context
iconology looking beyond the symbol itself.
what are you projecting in your own work, what signs are you representing or presenting in your work.
hagel = symbolic art = abstract
work of art is presenting the idea of something else to the viewer….christian art = trying to depict the ultimate beauty not this world which is imperfect and not true beauty….this is relation to iconography.
what is the idea of the horse , what does it mean, the icon that is related is the same throughout history. horse = power and the viewer receives the same idea in two pieces marcus arrilius on a horse and william kentridge nose on a horse
idea of iconography into semiotics= the theory of signs like i.e.. iconography symbology
breaks things down into that idea or signs more in semiotics= dissecting signs in words……
symbols = 3 categories the symbol the icon and the index.
symbol = conventional or arbitrary. letter a = 1 number = symbols.
icon = resembles or imitates what it is representing.
index = not completely arbitrary and erectly connected to the idea but is a vehicle we have come to understand the idea through. coughing = index of being sick. smoke = index for fire. not imitating fire but is not fire but a step to the understanding of fire.
significance, patters, color, numbers etc. are they symbols? symbols can shift …stop sign was a symbol and is now an index because it does not need to be read anymore and we know that it is there and we see the red and we know we need to stop . like if we see smoke we may assume that there may in fact be a fire.
does an object become an icon because it becomes obsolete?
Dennis Oppenheim ariel photography of thumbprint
index = thumbprint = evokes identity it is also an icon = representation of oneself
color white = ghostly and innocence or purity and a very positive color but is different in every culture.
iconoclasm is the destruction of an icon.
confidence in the way you are producing and know why you are producing that way. You need to have the background knowledge and need to have a relation to your idea. making up your own icons but need to have a connection and strong understanding of your subject and material matter. you have to defend your idea or relations.
Ann Hamilton
spirituality and the installation or performance piece that talks about slavery and that time period and the relation to Lincoln. script was written on the walls and a bright red powder sifted through the ceiling of the walls to fall onto the raised plaster. beautiful piece
what is your interest in your own art making? your work is your own vehicle that drives your reason to create work. semiotics have changed the art world. this idea that the art has become a symbol for something and why is that important? this art work of candy laid out for people to take and this connection or symbolism to mortality. each time you take a piece of candy or from the piece and you have this sweetness and then it disappears over time much like death and our understanding of it.
read more of word and text for third residency
Jenny Holzer - check her work out
Come back to the readings and Berger how to see…..
Provisional Painting - Rubenstein
an unfinished aesthetic / the incomplete does not necessarily mean the unfulfilled. great deal of begin knowledgable of materials and subject matter, a sense of being self aware and having a great involvement with your own practice to be able to embrace the provisional and not be settling into the incomplete and just saying that it is. Has to reach a certain essence to be able to work in the mode of the provisional
looking at a piece of work and allowing it to be an index to the idea of what the unfinished is meant to mean
auto-iconoclasm - the joy of living in the world with the muck and the mud. that is our time. a painting can come across as poorly painted….you have to have a solid idea and concept of why you are creating the way you are.
Contemporary Painters Lecture
Contemporary Painters 6/25/13
leslie bance - brush stokes and colors. resembles the spanish painting styles and beautiful and intimate images that were made just by the stroke of a brush and understanding that connection or movement and embracing it
chuck webster- centered stillness of the work through centering images and few colors and repetitions. simple, embracing that minimalist style. fascination with the geometric world
michelle grabner- craftsmanship and repetition and the use of the brush and making marks with the paint brush by taking black paint and then painting dots till the paint runs out and getting paint again and making these pieces that seem like they are weaving. podcast…..
rebecca quayten- painting as full installation. she encompasses the room in which she does a show. gathers floor plans and environments, images, etc and creates a piece based off those materials. she creates an installation as a painting.
laura owens- thought of previsional painting. is painting skill or tradition. unskilled paintings and then making them to fill a room. flower paintings that are all the same without little skill and then consuming a room with them. is this art?
kathreine bernharte- poorly painted art….is it art? she is taking the painting onto the wall. she again uses the surrounding, the environment old use of two words, wow or huh? the idea of working towards the reason as to why the work was made the wow to the huh factor and the huh to the wow factor where you are dissecting the work to see what it means and why it was created.
anna gibal- formalist relations of shape color and line not anything else. beautiful and very simple. lovely and all about strategy and precise use
annoka faruquee-
blake rayne
there is no nirvana left. chris martin is fighting the painting worls to get there. really trying to find ecstasy within art?
amy sillman- figurative reference. color is a strong source for this painter.
sharleen bonheyl- she is great at covering her tracks….impossile to figure out the steps of the artist. she likes the play the game of painting.
mary heileaman-
painting returns to color and form
kerri moyer-
where does realism stand and what is the relation between realism and abstraction
Grad Seminar: Second Assignment, What is your Lens like.
Reflection Assignment 2
Grad Seminar 6/26/13
Theme 1: Unity
5 concerte expressions:
-binding
-sewing
-holding hands
-peace signs
-stacks of materials that work together to get to a destination
5 abstract expressions:
-plant growing into a brick
-sounds (like when two playing makes a beat)
-vines
-flashing lights to create harmony between each other
-driving in the same snow tracks
Theme 2: Space
5 concrete expressions:
-a person in a room
-a measured area
-two objects compared to one another within a certain area
-image of a canyon
-small and tall
5 abstract expressions:
-emptiness in a landscape
-sound echo in an area
-two objects next to each other in a frame
-macro lense on a small area
Grad Seminar 6/21/13 First Assignment. Who are your "authors" and what is success?
Grad Seminar 1 6/21/13
Richella Simard
What/who are my "authors"
-compassion
-my twin
-friends
-students
-society
-humanity
-tolerance
-intolerance
-awareness
-motherly
-hate
-feelings
-opinions
-social issues
-camera
-change
-politics
-diversity
-common elements
-disagreements
-questions
-family
-connections
Current challenges and parameters
I want to evoke feeling and compassion
I want to relate to the viewer. no abstractions per say but I want them to work at discovering the meaning, the depth of the image.
I am confined by personal social issues and my own point of view
Challenge is broad- i need to be more concise.
personal growth
an achievement of tolerance within the viewer
create awareness
sense of self- belonging
I want to allow my viewer to embrace a side of humanity that they may not have seen/understood before
I want to create question
some boundaries are that I work in film, not abstract, portraits, personal connection
What is success?
Success to me is a personal achievement, it does not need to be a finished product. Growth can come through an unfinished piece and recollection of its purpose or your own. Success is stepping away from a final even if it doesn't feel like a final or that you have achieved that status.
Growth equals success no matter what the product is. Failure equals success because it creates growth. A change in perspective can equate to success because you have gained growth by another form of understanding. Posing questions or questioning yourself creates growth for success. When creating a piece of art and allowing the viewer to have another idea, another way of knowing or learning develops the growth for both the artist and the viewer. When planting that seed it will produce success and it may not be instant. Growth takes time and with it gives success.
The Pursuit of Happiness
Time Magazine
July 8-15 Sumer Double Issue
Notes
Pursuit of Happiness article
The Pursuit of Happiness
Time Magazine
July 8-15 Sumer Double Issue
Notes
Pursuit of Happiness article
OK. So here I am 29 years old, single, teacher, 2 dogs, homeowner, artist, twin and I am the happiest I can be. I cannot say it has been that way forever but at this point in my life, I am completely content and ready for every new days adventure. So in starting a Masters program and working on new work, I have decided I want to understand myself more because I am fascinated by say statistics and my current state of happiness. SO I have been seeking out novels, articles, etc. on happiness and the self.
Little background of "bad" that has happened in the past five years:
-mom leaves my father
-parents divorce
-father lone, dating young women
-mother dating and bringing them around to meet, not cool
-dad arrested for DWI, publicly humiliated because of state job as liquor commissioner
-dad resigned from job, news and papers blah blah blah
-dad drinking consistently, no license, miserable
-dad hits head, dies, ultimate decision to pull his life support made by us kids
-mourning, sad, telling everyone he lives through my dog
-funeral, wake, messy, moselium and not cremated.
-mom makes remarks constantly, your father, no connection, hurts
-life broken, no sister, no father, no family, ready to leave this place felt i had nothing
-dads birthday, sister crashes his car, arrested for DWI
-lost her license, drove her around, miserable
-relationship fail, no compassion, selfish, didn't understand my loss, anger and hate pushed deep inside
-will messy, hd to buy everything from the estate, appointee sucks and has no feelings, worst man ever
-hampshire herald, betrayal, crazy half sister
-questioned about death, did we kill our father
-money, life insurance, crying, hate
-stole papers from stores, backseat full
-news, can you steal free papers. thoughts of loosing my job and being on the news, scared and alone
-buy car back from man, sold without thought
-bought all jewelry from estate
-jewelry stolen, mangled, pawned, by cousin
-cousin brought to court to prosecute for felony of theft
-break up with boyfriend, so much anger towards him, smug
-sex, filled the void but didn't, just wanted it
-single, online dating, breaking hearts, frustrated
-sex kills
This article is from the summer issue of Time Magazine called The Pursuit of Happiness July 8/July 15th 2013
Vol. 182, No.2 2013 Pages 24-32 by Jeffery Kluger
So by reading this article has definitely made me question myself and the research that I have known on what happiness is. I picked this up at the Barnes and Nobles on my way to cash out with a couple books. I saw the title and thought, that is fitting and as I opened it to the article the front page of the article image was what I was looking for. Why were people happy and how did they achieve it especially in a society like today. The image was of a little girl with a scoop of ice cream on her cone staring in envy at a little boy with two different scoops on his cone eating it happily. I thought, perfect and put it in with the other to buy.
when I began reading about the article, it wasn't about ice cream or the grass is greener on the other side. Let me explain that this whole article was broken into five different sections of the pursuit of happiness. So this one began with the thought of money, marriage, children etc. It spoke about how we are always pursuing to the next big thing. That once we achieve said goal, we don't last to be content about it that we have to go on to the next goal. The big question in this part of the article was what kind of material devices make us happy and does money make us happy ultimately. Statistics were that people with good families, marriage all are beneficial to happiness more than children or money. Americans spending 118 billion on travel in year 2012 and 140 billion on rec. equipment and 200 billion on electronics! Only approximately forty years ago did americans claim that one third were very happy and our percentage of "happy" americans has plummeted. The amount of americans who consider themselves optimists has nearly dropped from 79-50% while more of us suffer from "mental" illnesses.
Now, this day and age, everyone seeks out happiness that the pursuit itself has become a part of big business as a 10 billion dollar a year industry! People need to be told, still with so many opportunities around them, how to seek out happiness?!?!? How does this make sense. SO what is the difference between our exploratory and impulsive behavior and how we react to them. Our body is filled with chemistry to create happy thoughts and embrace them but why do we not do it as much as we all should? The thought of shopping creating that sense of happiness. The fact that most politicians enjoy running for office more than holding it because it is the adrenaline of the act of achieving that goal. Once the goal is achieved and the items are purchased the happiness slowly fades.
So does being rich make you happy? studies in this article show that a pay raise unless its significant to a larger salary will not make an individual any more happy. It has to be significant to make a difference in ones life. The purser needs to be able to buy more of the material object that make them "happy" to feel happy. It states that a person out of a job is happier than a person who works for little money and bad hours. Why is that? because they feel a sense of freedom not having a job and can use it as an excuse than making far less and working undesirable hours to pay the bills they need to pay?
Now what does social media do for happiness? Is this a place where people can pretend to be happy? A place where most americans spend a majority of their free time in this day and age…….promoting themselves through the social media. What is real? Statistics say that a vast majority of people who have social media promote themselves to be all around better than they really are. We live in a society where people are consistently trying to impress another. There is thought that most people are not naturally happy or really know what happiness is or how to achieve it. A question that this article posed that I thought was very interesting was "would you still engage in this experience if your could tell no one about it?" pg/32 This also coincides with the thoughts of existentialists. People are more likely to buy material objects than an experience such as a vacation, this is also a form of uniqueness when an individual can put their money towards something that no one would experience quite the same as them but everyone can buy a tv or an article of clothing.
What makes people happy and numbers that show it:
the comparison from 2004 to 2013 is shocking how many americans are optimists, how self esteem has changed now due to social media sites, the amount of people who are volunteering, having sex, shopping and others that help improve their "happiness" has dropped approximately ten percent in all categories. It is in interesting now to see how many people engage in social media and live in a world that is surrounded by endless possibilities and still the amount of happiness has lessened. Could it be that we have too many options now? We, as americans, have so much knowledge in this day and age but yet we are not smart enough to figure out what it is that truly makes us happy because we are blinded by the materialistic world that surrounds us. If our only options were blue and red….we would choose the color that we like more, warm or cool but now that we have aqua, marine, crimson, sky, fire, etc. we feel overwhelmed and there is not the simplicity of making a choice now there is a stress of making the "right" choice in a sea of options…why? because everyone is going to look at you and judge you if you make the wrong choice? And why in such an independent world with so many options are we still concerned at how people perceive us. So now we went from two colors to fifteen colors but we went from five eyes watching to millions, so what difference does it make if you choose the wrong color. Statistically wouldn't it all still be the same?
Interesting enough the look throughout the world from asia, Australia, central and south america, north america, europe, and africa based on the stats from this article, most countries that had a strong sense of community have a higher level of happiness as a whole even though they may be in a financial crisis or having economic struggles. Some people who are so "low" have the greatest sense of enjoyment because maybe their options are limited and so they are more aware of what makes them happy. This also joins with Waste Land documentary and happiness.
Now we go into the idea of the pursuit of happiness and the declaration of independence.
The pursuit is the idea of public happiness which he imagined measurable. Happiness according to people like Aristotle was something worth seeking and an ultimate good. it was not about yellow smelly faces as they said. pg. 40 This part of the article embraces the idea of happiness being more from a community. If you can give to your community and make those broader connections outside your own that you would be happier in general. There is no solidity in happiness through the digital world. The idea of the pursuit of happiness is not to do whatever we want when we want but to understand what would make us happiest at that given moment. pg. 42 Happiness ultimately is not about the self its about the world around us.
This article started to join with many of the other reading that I have pursued this semester. I found a lot of connections come through in the readings to now when starting to write about them. It has been an interesting cycle to understand myself and where I am and why I am going the path I am.
Waste Land; Vik Muniz
Waste Land; Vik Muniz
This documentary was amazing. It really embraced my thoughts of how I feel about happiness. These people were some vey low income working in Brazil and at the landfill. They were considered "pickers" but this was a misinterpretation from a lot of people. They did not pick trash they picked out recyclables to then turn in for money and collection. They would make anywhere up to about 25 dollars a day and they lived in poor conditions while staying by the landfill in Rio. All the people that Vik Muniz chose to be a part of this project were courageous individuals. They all had a hard story to tell and were opening up throughout the documentary.
The bond that was created from the beginning to the end was most enjoyable to watch. Muniz really gave back to his community as he had hoped to do during this work. This in relation to the pursuit of happiness holds the same meaning and idea of promoting happiness through a sense of community. He was a brave individual to go into a place where he could of been rejected based of status to them in comparison.
This was inspiring to me because it not only developed the process that I crave within my own art but the sense of community and the obvious connection that the artist had with the individuals that he worked with. This is most intriguing to me and a place I would like to be and it coincided with all my views on happiness, art, and life in general. How do we overcome lives battles?This movie will help guide me through out my process and I will look deeper into Vik Muniz.
How to be an Existentialist; or how to get real, Get a Grip and Stop making Excuses.
Gary Cox
Notes
How to be an Existentialist; or how to get real, get a grip and stop making excuses
How to be an Existentialist; or how to get real, Get a Grip and Stop making Excuses.
Gary Cox
Notes
How to be an Existentialist; or how to get real, get a grip and stop making excuses
Gary Cox
This book is fascinating and a real eye opening to me in the lifestyle that I live. I chose to read this book based on the idea that I was on a quest to understand myself. Entering the Masters program was a way for me to further understand my ways of making art and how it is that i live my life each day.
The beginning of the book talks about responsibility and will. You as a human have the will to do whatever it is that you want and that is your sense of freedom as it is called but not everyone is well aware that they are free and that they have that choice. In that choice as well everyone is responsible for their actions. Almost referring to "it is what you make of it" "you are what you et" type of phrases.
The existentialists are recognized as true. Someone who will not deny themselves knowledge or admit that they are not completely aware. It is all about being aware of your freedom and the choices you make using that freedom and then taking responsibility for those choices and not trying to deny them.
Jean-Paul Satre was a well known philosopher and existentialist and referred to multiple times during the book. Philosophy destroys assumptions (pg 12) CHosing to live instead of choosing to end your life is taking responsibility of your life. (pg 16)
"love is the demand to be loved" stare pg. 20
What is the consciousness? consciousness is nothing pg. 21 the consciousness requires brain activity. are we constantly trying to please our own consciousness? Through copiousness is it possible for a person to be satisfied or by existentialist point of view based on consciousness a person can not be satisfied because the consciousness is always seeking out something it lacks. pg 29 The idea that consciousness plays in the past-future role means that once you have achieved something you desire your fulfillment is gone. pg. 33/35
From the consciousness the book going into speaking about the "other" pg 37. The thought of how we satisfy ourselves through our consciousness and then what the other thinks or perceives of us can be detrimental to the mind. and existentialist needs to remember that they are free to think and be what they want and that the other will always have their opinions of you.
"…in opposition to his freedom and his joyful transcendence, other people force him to be what he is for them rather than what he is for himself. " pg. 39
What the other makes us feel are emotions that make us well rounded; shame, embarrassment, humiliation, pride etc. and yet we can not feel these alone, it is the other that puts us into these emotions pg 40
"freedom is not freedom from responsibility, freedom is having to make choices and therefore having to take responsibility. " pg. 45
Existentialism is about the choice to be free and what people will make of it. You have to make yourself do it if you want to do it you can just say I'm going to do it because it won't happen until you do. When people feel at disadvantage from others they are limiting their freedom and yet they are not making to decision to make their disability what it is they are capable of doing. If you can not talk, then that is not part of your freedom but what else can you do to choose to be part of your freedom.
"perhaps the only truly disabled people in this world are those who have a disabling attitude" pg 50
many people can not manage or handle the thought of being free and so they limit themselves by convincing themselves that they are not free and that they do not have a choice to choose. This is almost like a coping mechanism for people who are not capable of handling the ability to make life what you want of it.
When people have say debt and they allow everyone to believe that they are not in debt it is because they are not taking actions or responsibility for their actions. This is ignorance and allowing or not allowing yourself to believe the actual state you are in. The book talking about "bad faith" continuously and it is when you say you believe but your actions are not existentialists. This for of bad faith can come from "living a lie" and ignorance of these acts within life., this is someone who is incapable of accepting truth. If you were to live a life that others wanted you to where you would lie to yourself and to those around you to make them believe something different would be living in bad faith. This makes no sense to me., why would anyone want to live life in this way and I have found that throughout reading this book that I have realized how I react and present myself and have grown to be a little more self aware and present for myself.
In existentialism, there is no excuses. if you deliver excuses you are not being true to oneself. pg. 84 a great deal of being an existentialist as well is the thought of living without regret. Can you fulfill your life enough in the present to never live with regret to be an authentic existentialist.
There is sense of blame in todays world. Wheere people who are ignorant, greedy, lazy are blaming others for their lack of freedom or ability to "do" when they are not taking control of their freedom and falling into living a life of regret. pg. 89
What does it mean to do my best. When i say i did my best and I'm insinuating that i could of done better?
Why is it that we can understand and be aware that we could of done better but we don't and by saying these words its like sugar coating the idea of giving our best regardless. I found this relation very fascinating because I never really perceived it to be that way. After looking at it, it all makes sense that this would and can be considered an excuse. Words that would make people believe that they are truly doing their best and that there is no reason to do more because you can always be at "i did my best" A true existentialist would not say i did my best
"he is the artist or author of his own life. " pg. 99
how is it that old people are closer to death than young people, which is the presumption. death can come at any time. "unadventurous people who fail to live life to the full because they fear death, still die" pg. 105
"a person should live his life recognizing that each moment, each day, is precious and utterly irreplaceable." pg. 106
"the broad aim of self-improvement is achievable" pg 107
First papers for residency 21 One is on a critical theory class with Francine Weiss and another is about the residency and my reaction.
Latest paper for the residency 2 the next one should be far more advanced in research and ideas.
First papers for residency 21 One is on a critical theory class with Francine Weiss and another is about the residency and my reaction.
Richella Simard
Critical Theory 2 Reaction Paper
Advisor: Jason Landry
Instructor: Francine Weiss
Taking this Critical Theory Class I have come to understand, in more depths than before, the history and birth of photography. I have gained a much stronger base of knowledge on the evolution and continuing evolution of the camera. Relating this current digital boom to the past historical photographic movements, of the time when photography became accessible, allows me to accept this advancement in photography a little more. Photography is only just an image until it is critiqued by another which will then make it a piece of art. Theories have challenged the way to view the photograph and are used today still. None the less I have been taught a vast amount of knowledge in great detail about the history and creation of the print, camera and critics who refer to the photograph as an art form.
The history of the photograph began with the idea of the still image and transformed into a product that was later mass produced. The daguerreotype was the first permanent photographic process that was introduced to and used by the public in the 1800’s and since its invention many more ideas have come about on how a photograph could be made. This process was difficult to understand by most and extensive in directions, not a very fast paced production which lead to other quicker processes shortly after. The idea of the still image is most intriguing. No scientist has stumbled upon a camera or photograph, they had to think of the idea of capture first, even before the camera obscura. Since the invention of the daguerreotype from Louis Daguerre the photographic evolution was born. Scientists and artists created many different ways to make a permanent image such as the calotype, ambrotype, cyanotype, etc. Some painters had become photographers and the fight for photography as an art form had begun. Once the image had been created scientists and artists worked to make a more portable invention of the camera which would later be used to document history and cultural diversities and with the rise of the consistent evolution of the camera the photograph had begun to be more accessible to the everyday man which is why artists movements were created during this time period.
Realism was the beginning of the photographic movements by an image that showed real life, or so the public thought. Realism was a movement in photography where the camera became so advanced that it was portable. At this time Matthew Brady was a Civil War photography and would document these horrific events. The photograph had come into the public eye as a means to easily distribute the aftermath of the war, depression, and other ways of life to the people. Matthew Brady, Tim O’Sullivan and Alex Gardner were some of the more well known photographers who documented the war. Some of the war photographers staged certain images to look more dramatic. Which was a way for the photographer to take more control over the image and its composition. Photography became a way to communicate during this time in the FSA. The FSA was the Farm Security Administration, a program built to document the farmers on their land and the loss of crop and manpower to maintain the farms for the demand that was being received. Alfred Stieglitz and Walker Evans were some of the photographers who were a part of this mission and it was the FSA that boosted their photographic career. The images were used to show how the farm land outside of the cities were suffering from the depression. Their environments were not comfortable or considered livable from most in the urban areas. Some photographers while on assignments steered away from the idea of the project and photographed what they found interesting and beautiful and rebelling against the idea of FSA in the end. It was during this time that the camera had made its way into the market and was being produced by the masses for common folk to purchase and use. Smaller, cheaper cameras were being sold and because of the growth of people in the photographic world, photographers needed a way to separate themselves from the amateurs. It was because of this challenge that the next photographic movement of pictorialism came about to define what actually made a good image.
Due to the overwhelming flush of amatuer photographers the pictolialist movement was created. Pictorialism would define what made a photographer an artist. Photographers around the country, and others, were photographing for arts sake. Photographs of light, composition, texture, beauty etc. came to be the ideal. Clubs were formed for the professionals to join to then send work from one club to another, across the country, to see the images that were being made by the professionals at the time. This movement was a step away from societies newest born idea of the photograph, for common use, and into the galleries and shows with a fine art photograph. Along with the clubs and organizations of photographers came the critics who helped to define what made up a good image. These critics such as Roland Barthes set the rules to critiquing photography. Along with Barthes there were many other philosophers studying the photograph but Barthes’ idea of connotation and denotation being depicted or not in the image was thought provoking.
There are many ways to capture the viewers attention and Roland Barthes breaks the beauty of the photograph down. A philosopher, invested in the idea of what created an aesthetically creative and well composed image, Barthes played an important role in the way photographs are viewed today. Barthes presented an idea of how a photograph could be viewed in three areas such as the syntax, photogenia, and aesthetics. The syntax is referring to the order or sequence, the photogenia would be the technique, light or style and the aesthetics is speaking to the idea behind the art. These were referred to as the connotation of an image according to Barthes and the denotation would be the object present in the image. The debate of the denotation would be that it is not information that is necessary to the image because it comes with previous knowledge. For instance in a portrait the denotation would be the human in the image but there is no reason to point out the human because we already are aware it exists and so the idea of the detonation becomes non-existent itself. Then the image can then be critiqued on its aesthetics, syntax and photogenia. Barthes’ articulation of this theory is in some ways complex to understand but also essential to creating an image of interest to the viewer.
Today, year 2014, Barthes’ critique is essential for image making but with the advancement in technology it seems as though we are in a similar movement from realism to pictorialism. I am intrigued by Barthes and the idea of no denotation and only being judged from its connotation. It was fascinating to see the breakdown of the photographs and what makes one impressive or full of content. From these theories it allows me to look at my own work in a different perspective. I have become more aware of certain differences in the way we view art or photographs. In some ways it sets stronger visual guidelines for me. When discussing the invention of photography, what was most interesting to me was the thought or idea of making an actual still image. For some reason this resonated with me and I find the beginning of photography so fascinating. What I can strongly relate to from this class is the transformation from realism to pictorialism. This movement is so personal right now because, in some ways, I feel as though I am in the same battle. We live in a digital world now and this history of photography is changing and will continue to evolve. I fear the day that film is no more and I am striving to find my own voice in alternative processes. As a photographer I feel detached from the digital photograph and have become so overwhelmed with it that I have resorted to a whole tangible and historical process to print from. Although the class was filled with a whole evolution of photography these points of interest are what stuck with me the most. I feel challenged to create something that is different for this digital time period. Although I recognize that digital will not cease to exist, I will soon come to embrace it but I will continue to find an alternative way to present myself as a photographer.
A consistent and ongoing evolution, yes. Photography will continue to amaze us all with its advancements but I believe at some point the artists will miss the joy of its original form and wish history to undo itself. The photograph is a common object that many will have the pleasure in taking and some will enjoy the idea of creating them as a piece of art. Photography will forever be an art form that will never die for it will always be a document. Besides writing and drawing, photography is a reason the history can be captured of the past and of today and it will remain a resource for documentation as long as it lives.
Richella Simard
2nd Residency Goals/ Reaction Paper
Advisor: Jason Landry
During this past residency I had the pleasure of being critiqued not only by all the existing and new students but most of the faculty as well. Because my work currently is so experimental I decided to pull aside a lot of visual artists as well to talk about my process to try to help me reel it in a bit. I sat with Jon Gitelson, Jason Landry, Stephen Sheffield, Lucinda Bliss, Chris Archer, Jen Morris, Keith Johnson, Cary Wolinsky, Craig Stockwell and Francine Weiss. My personal goal during the residency was to get as much feedback as I possibly could to fuel me for the time off period. Needless to say I was spun in many different directions but all along the same highway, if you will. The most exciting part of all the crits was the encouragement to continue to pursue this alternative process I have been using.
What I learned throughout all these critiques is that I need to figure out if it is important to me that these prints are all monoprints. Each one is a one of a kind image that can not be reproduced and what kind of significance does that hold for the image or not. I need to look deeper into my presentational choices of the work and how it differs from on the wall, off the wall, a film photograph next to an anthotype, etc. How do these different ideas change the context of the image. A question that should also be considered, is it really photography and how?
This brings me to some of my frustrations I faced during the residency because I am not producing images that are of the typical photographic process. I am using an alternative process that is not only visually different but creativity different and I found that might of been difficult for other photographers to view my work. Although I felt I received a strong critique from my colleagues I was facing an inner battle of, can I still be considered a photographer? Some of the students said maybe I was a visual artist but when I look to create, I photograph. I love the photograph and I only want to be a photographer but maybe not in the sense that others are. It was frustrating to feel that some of my colleagues questioned my presence in the department. Maybe this is my goal, to push the idea of what the image is and how it can be made. To in other words say battle the expected.
I am currently challenged by trying to find a consistent idea, although the work presents itself as being cohesive as a whole, what is the most valuable or worth pursuing of it all. I am trying to understand the process and presentation that is most direct to depict what I am wanting to say, that which of course, I am not entirely sure of just yet. I am still trying to understand the reason for the process that I have come to adopt and how it could potentially relate to one concept or idea that I possess. What I can say is through critiques the thoughts that I consistently brought up, but may have not made the strongest connection to, is food waste, life and death and decomposition. In some ways these three concepts relate to one another but photographically it will be my challenge to decided which one is the strongest to explore or is it possible to tie all three into the work.
Bringing me to conclude with my goals and what it is I hope to overall achieve from this upcoming semester. I wish to gain a stronger ability to articulate myself when speaking about my work, I want to gain strength in writing about my process and images, I wish to create a large amount of mini series and I wish to attend double the amount of museums and openings or other events as I did last semester. I will still be experimenting like last semester but there will be a sense of order to the science. It took me a semester to find a process that was comfortable for me to pursue with and now I plan on using this semester to really figure out what kind of voice I want my images to project.
Here is a bulleted list of ideas and experiments that I wish to take part in during the semester:
New Projects List from Residency #2
- Make a series of prints
- Short series
- all the same size
- made of the prints I have currently been working on
- Quilt making
- weaving
- Making small prints on fabric, dyed fabric, and then sewing them together.
- Grid of one image
- choose a fruit for subject
- make twenty different emulsions and print that subject
- make grid and photograph it
- Menus
- make an emulsion out of food for a recipe
- make a print with each part of that recipe on it
- create the product, photograph the product
- print the recipe on the coated and printed paper
- digital or original
- Make a progression of decay
- each day make a print of the matter
- each day make a photograph of the matter
- show the matter in a jar at its full decay
- display out the progression of the decay through the anthotype and photographs
- Snow Prints
- make my own paper
- coat the paper/spray/throw/dip etc
- go on a walk/hike, place the paper on the trail in the trees etc.
- revisit later or at end of walk to pick up?
- find a place local I like to go and place one out every time it snows?
- go to that place and just place a handful around and revisit after a week or so
- More jar studies
- photograph where the jars may rest inside my house
- make a print and place an actual shelf where the shelf lies and place the actual jars on the shelf when the study of the decay is over? or is it?
- Framing
- make anthotypes of organic matter
- make a photography of the matter
- frame the photograph with the varies anthotype prints of that matter
- Calendars
- fruitful months
- study one fruit per month understand it/eat it every day/ make recipes for it
- goes along with study till decay
- Grocery Store Map
- study the layout
- study the waste
- study the most purchased
- map put my own grocery store
- create anthotypes of products that are fresh, frozen, canned.
- make paint color swatches of the three different stages which should resemble the three different types of nutrients from that product.
- cardboard layout/ 3d/ actual produce and swatches above to see "what to buy"
- Constellations
- study more with the pinning idea
- maps/constellations/connections/symmetry
- is there a science behind these marks or veins?
- Think more about Fermentation/ Cataloging /Labeling
- Dinner Plates
- make dinner
- coat paper/ feed myself and paper dinner
- let it decompose completely? cook? uncooked?
- make anthotype with food.
- make photograph of my place each time
- try coating on plates?
- Dirty Image
- play with digital prints
- recoat and print again?
- coat onto the fruit and then let outside?
Latest paper for the residency 2 the next one should be far more advanced in research and ideas.
Richella Simard
Advisor: Jason Landry
Paper #2 Thought Process
Residency #2
2.27.14
Jonathan Bloom a writer and activist of the nations food waste dilemma opens his book American Wasteland; How America Throws Away Nearly Half of its Food (and What We Can Do About It) with a quote from Teddy Roosevelt “I recognize the right and duty of this generation to develop and use our natural resources; but I do not recognize the right to waste them, or to rob, by wasteful use, the generations that after us.” Currently in this country, that is exactly what we are doing. Food has turned into a commonly disposed of household item, not a source of nutrition and value and this is a problem that needs to be recognized to be solved. A healthy food source is a resource that all species need to survive, worldwide. It is also a resource that has lost some of its nutritional value in more industrialized countries, like the United States of America. Fruit and vegetables are an example of foods whose healthy and useful components such as the peel, the juice, and the seeds are oftentimes wasted by American producers and consumers. Fruit and vegetables were once an organic resource, grown in nature or farmed by man that are now being processed in plants with the addition of hormones and other chemicals prior to entering our food supply. These modifications to the natural growing cycle are not only potential problems to our health, but they alter the view of food from being beautiful and natural to something that is tainted and disposable. So instead of wasting produce, I have been creating art with food. My journey in this process will consist of developing ways to represent these dilemmas that societies face today. The food used to produce my images is a metaphor. I am exploring what it means to be devalued, altered and reconstructed by the food industry.
My process is simple. I juice a fruit or vegetable,. I paint the juice onto mostly watercolor paper and then I make a mono print on the paper by pressing another substance into the wet juices. Usually that substance is another fruit or vegetable. It might be a leaf or sometimes I let the snow or rain fall onto the surface of the paper to imprint a pattern when it dries. All the matter that is pressed into the paper is removed usually when the paper is dry. At that point both the juice from the paper and from the matter has some what dried together to then leave behind a print of its own texture on the surface. The texture of these prints I find beautiful but what is also beautiful is the color. Even if the color is bright or dull, it is rich because it comes from the earth, therefore it is natural. Most of us are aware of this color because we recognize it in the organic matter, when it stains our hands, when we eat it or see it. For instance we know the color of a carrot is orange and the color of kale is green but what might not as obvious for everyone is that their juices are usually just as rich in that color. Even though we are familiar with it, some of us would not think that color could be transferred to another source, such as paper. I am using the color like dye, as our ancestors did many years ago.
I have been dyeing fabrics, plates, paper etc. with this natural form of color to make monoprints. Organic matter is being pressed into the dyed surface leaving an impression or a print depends on if any particles from the matter are left behind on the surface. It appears almost as if there is a bond between both objects when the materials dry together. This type of reaction makes the process unpredictable and fascinating. A majority of the time, there are two things I love about the images; the color and the texture. Even if I only used beets as a main dye, each beet would be a different color because of its age, location grown, store purchased at, organic, etc. and the organic matter that is printed onto the dyed surface has the same variables. By understanding the difference in color and in print I have been experimenting and exploring what, potentially, this could mean. Many questions are raised such as; could the color of the crop show the difference between fresh or old? organic or GMO? frozen or canned? local to not? etc. Would it be possible to show some sort of nutritional value of the food through its color and print alone?
I see this work as an exploration about time and history; similar to an archeologist, whose work gives insight into the past. My thoughts concern a time when we would only harvest the food that was available to us during a season; a time when color and tastes weren’t synthetically produced. We, as humans, lived off the land and what it had to give us. In modern times, we are destroying it. As a species we have created food that is synthetic and not natural. We have treated our crops with chemicals like pesticides, fertilizers, and genetically modified hormones to produce what we perceive as cheaper and more plentiful food sources. What this has produced is waste and an unhealthy food supply for our country. Nearly half the food that is produced is basically wasted at homes and in supermarkets and restaurants. From this research I have progressed to the idea of possibly making my future images from all wasted products. I would make paper from pulp and juices. Subsequent prints would be made from wasted resources obtained at local markets.
After meeting with my mentor Lana Z. Caplan we discussed these ideas and topics. She brought up a very key point that my thoughts on the food’s taste, smell, texture were all relevant to this work and they should be more visible. It is the experience that I have in purchasing the product from different stores, tasting, and juicing the fruit that needs to be more apparent in the work because it is part of the work. What we also discussed is even though this work may be personal, that it is my job to create the art that speaks of it, not be a social activist. Given this simple reminder, I feel as though I am back on track. It is frustrating to work with a product that could take on multiple significances and ones that could be personal. By being reminded I am the maker of art was a direction I needed but the personal journey and changes in my decisions should not go unannounced.
In my personal life I tend to eat what is labeled organic. To me, this is the way food should be and it is only labeled now because of the food boom that happened after World War II. People needed cheap, quick food to feed their families and now we have created an overwhelming abundance of food that is being disposed of. (Bloom 67) Bloom would say that we are devaluing the food constantly because of the abundant available options but yet we want more. The resources it takes to make and transport food, to then be thrown away and not consumed only adds to the complexity of the problem. This makes me think of the saying "you are what you eat" but what if you are what you don't eat. At this point in this food war I do believe that people should be judged more by what they don't consume than by what they consume because food is a resource not to be wasted.
I will be studying the concepts of food waste and treated or industry processed crops by the color and texture of the foods in the images I make along with written thoughts to go with each piece. Statistics or graphing may play a role in this work in the future to show the impact the difference in our food, such as the change from organic to genetically modified has on the rise in disease, health, etc. from early 1900's to today. Food does not hold the same value as it did many years ago due to the industrialization of the process. For instance, we have gone from fresh ground pulled carrots to water pressure made baby carrots because they seem more appealing and easier to eat because of their size. It is because of this change in the idea of food, that the food itself is being exposed to more hazardous products before reaching the consumer and aiding to the rise in health problems we currently face as a nation. Food or organic matter will continue to be my material resource and my goal will be to show the difference in the quality of the food by studying it both photographically and through printmaking. I will attempt to see if it is possible to resurrect the beauty and respect of food through these images. I would like to communicate my vision to those in society who fail to see the beauty in food in its natural state.
Throughout this semester I will be researching statistics of waste, disease, and the growth of our food industry in the United States. I will be studying the local markets to purchase food. I will do a comparison and document my thoughts on its taste, smell etc. I will be working to create images that reflect the concepts described with hopes that they could potentially be viewed as both evidence and art about the dilemmas we may face in the future concerning our food. My goal will be to use the color and textures of the food to create images of visible beauty. I hope beauty will bring awareness to the detachment we have suffered through the gluttonous and wasteful view we have about the resource that ideally makes us all thrive.
Works Cited
Bloom, Jonathan. American Wasteland; How America Throws Away Nearly Half if Its Food (and What We Can Do About It). Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 2010. Print.
No comments:
Post a Comment