Don't Over Do It..

"My opinion is that the best thing would be to work on till art lovers feel drawn toward it of their own accord, instead of having to praise or to explain it."
~Vincent van Gogh

I was looking through some stuff tonight, and I found this interesting. If one of the most famous artists throughout history can say this it makes me wonder why we can't just appreciate something for what it is sometimes, a feeling, a moment, or just something something beautiful or intriguing. Now don't get me wrong I often find that when we have analyzed a peice of art in previous classes, it has been an eye-opener and a great learning experience, but as always people can take things too far. I think that sometimes when people sit and overanalyze a peice of art or debate over its meaning for hours, it just ruins what the artist had intended it to be and you wonder if the artist was there or if he would have just simply said give it a rest already. . .

Humor and Art

So as I sit here and watch Napolean Dynamite for about the fourth or fifth time I think about how simple life can be sometimes. It's just nice to sit back and have a good laugh every once in a while. In fact I think that some of the best art is the most simple and even better when it can make you laugh. I find these guys suprisingly engaging and lovably creepy. Check them out at- http://mr-sisson.deviantart.com/ oo and don't forget to click on his "gallery" to see more. In a strange way I think this has alot to do with this weeks reading. Someone that sheds new light on things whether it's "spiritual" like Kandinsky put it or just plain old funny, are the true artists.

Sandy Skoglund

Hey everyone. I thought for the first week I would just talk a little bit about an artist I enjoy, Sandy Skoglund. Most of you are probably familiar with her or at least are familiar with some of her earlier works like "Radioactive Cats" or "Walking On Eggshells." I have always found her interesting, both for her use of color and also because often the subjects in her work are things that I am interested in using in my own work.
In her earlier works, she would photograph the animals she had created or build subjects out of foods. I work at an animal shelter so alot of my work involves animals and I am always looking for ways to stay away from that typical pet portrait. I know sometimes drawing cats and dogs over and over again can really become boring and monotonous for an audience. I really find her work very visually captivating and thats one of the things I would like to acheive in my own. I think the complementary color schemes in some of her work really make her subjects come alive. In some of her other pieces she often builds the people and settings in her shots out of food! I think thats incredibly original and I absolutely love her "Raining Popcorn." I think using different resources in art definitely also can have a captivating effect on an audience. Last semester I did a sculpture made of Fruit by the Foot and I got so many different reactions. I had people licking my art and going up to sniff at it. So I think to me thats when you know you have a success when you get new and different reactions out of your audience. This is what I guess I am trying to bring to my animal artworks and another reason why I appreciate Sandy's work. So if you have time you should check her work out at http://www.sandyskoglund.com/ Her 2004 True Fiction Two is really amazing. She is more focused on photography instead of her previous installation pieces and plays even more with color and this time layers as well. It's a very interesting effect. Enjoy!!