Sol LeWitt

So I really enjoyed reading about Sol LeWitt today. He was someone that I had never really heard of until now and his story was very refreshing. First of all, whenever I hear a success story to the degree of the LeWitt family's, it always kind of sparks revelation in me. If the road ahead for us hear at UD looks bumpy, it's kind of reasuring that those have been through much worse and have managed such great success while keeping true to themselves. LeWitt's parents were two lower class, Russian immigrants that came to America and started a legacy, whose son moved on after them, living up to what they were, and probably to what they had hoped from him. LeWitt's modest attitude that was captured in this article reallly was impressing. He was granted awards which he turned down, public interviews which were denied, even commemoration that was not accepted. This man wanted absolutely nothing for all the work he had lived his life doing. He had all the fame and fortune that only seldom comes with the life of an artist, and he wanted nothing of it. Stories like these always seem to amaze me because after all the obstacles we all know will come with living the lives of artists, I think if you are rewarded it would be easy to fall into that snotty sort of lifestyle.
Its something I have been thinking about lately especially because of some of the things Amy Wilson had to say on Thursday. I really appreciated how she admitted to keeping herself grounded with the small "toys" she that she likes to create and hand out periodically. And how it keeps the audiences she had always intended on having instead of only those now who can afford her art. All artists at one point or another have been through the "starving artist phase" but to me its those that don't lose their heads when they reach the top that are the real artists.

Happy Easter

Ok so I hope everyone's having a Happy Easter, even though its like 30 degrees outside, but anyway I am really excited about the new project. For the Narrative, I am painting images of the animals at the shelter that I work at. I took pictures today at the shelter of some of my favorites. I am trying to depict alot of the issues that the public usually doesn't see, lke the animals with sicknesses that eventually will have to be put down. If you look at some of Sue Coe's work you can really see the suffering animals endure, especially her piece of animal control bringing in a new dog to a kennel. Her work definitely inspires me and I will definitely be writing more on her later.

Narratives vs Non-Narratives

So when thinking about this project, I figured the best way to start would be to look up the word Narrative. A Narrative is a spoken or written account of connected events, a story. Since most definitions of the word apply to some kind of writing, I think that the difference between a non-narrative and a narrative painting is a little less distinguishable. A narrative painting could involve anything from an interaction between two people to even in a way, a still life. And though traditionally a still life isn't usually a narrative, I think certain details can elevate a still life to a narrative. For example; a fruitbowl. Is the fruitbowl located in a kitchen? Is the light in the kitchen portraying day or night? What kind of condition is the kitchen in? Is it spotless or filthy? Maybe some kind of disaster has just occured or maybe the house has been abandoned and thats responsible for the mess? Or maybe the fruitbowl is just a fruitbowl on a table, with nothing else in sight. I think it is these types of decisions and attention to those kind of details that lead to what type of painting it is. Narrative or Non-narrative.

Understanding the Abstract

I was reading through the artists of the Abstract Impressionism movement and of course like I am sure all of you did, I had my preferences. I also asked others of their preferences of the 1940s and 50s artists and there was a general consensus. Although all of the artists of this time worked with a similiar goal in mind; to create something of gestures with emotion in mind, (influenced by surrealism) and no consideration of anything objective or representational, there was in the minds of many a favorite. Ad Reinhardt had an awareness of the elements and his efforts to "involve himself" in his paintings through the careful planning of the paintings execution, especially the size, was unique. And the political influence behind Mark Rothko's brightly colored work was new and different, many of the qualities were apparent in either of the artists work. Most did not see the preparation the two artists put into these paintings, and instead ironically turned to someone else. Jackson Pollock, a painter famous for his new technique "action painting," was a favorite among many. He, himself, has said that his paintings were nothing but paintings. They meant nothing more than that, whereas others that used careful preparations in their works, were overlooked.

Cows

Soo things right now are a little crazy.. I am trying to memorize over a hundred works of art for this art history class I am in. I'm sure alot of you know what I'm talking about because some of you are probably in it. In the meantime though, I am enjoying our last painting before Spring Break!! I am again focusing on animal cruelty, and this time making the subject matter cows, so it should be interesting. I am also incorporating a 3D aspect to it with some netting I bought a while ago. I am excited to see the effect it has on the painting.. Well can't wait to see everyones!

Damion Loeb

Out of all of the artists we saw on tuesday, I was most impressed by Damion Loeb. I found his work incredibly amazing. He is quoted as a "hyper-realist painter" and despite our conversation in class on realism versus naturalism, you can tell from looking at the unbelievable detail in his work, there is no better word to describe exactly what he is or what he does. When first looking at some of his most recent work, you are not quite sure whether you are looking at a photograph or a painting. Though those are the most naturalistic even some work done in previous years are very picturesque, but have an unusual, almost sureal aspect to them. If you go to... http://www.damianloeb.com/art/ you can see many of his pieces. I also found the process of his artwork very intriguing and if you choose the works marked "studies," you can first view the video clip he has taken the image out of. Then he even goes as far as to break down the clips into individual scenes. Finally he ends with what resulted from all his efforts, his final painting, which takes him about a month for each one.
One of the most remarkable aspects that is the most attractive to me, is the way he handles the light. In his images that include water, it seems as though not even a camera could capture the quality of light that he does. I think this is especially evident in "M," "From Here to Eternity," and "Then There Were None." These are all under his "Deliverance" exhibit from 2005. Anyone who was interested in his work from Tuesday, you should definitely check this site out. If you want to know some more information about him you can also look him up on Google and alot of his personal interviews show up. So enjoy!

Recreation

I am definitely excited to see what everyone is doing for the next assignment. It seems so much more individualized than the last, and I think everyone is taking it in completely different ways, which is cool. So after going through most everyone elses plans for the new assignment on here, I figured I would write mine as well.
So after a couple extra days in the studio, I think I am well on my way to a complete Rene Magritte Recreation. Alot of you have probably heard of or seen some of his work and maybe even seen "The Listening Room." Magritte is a surreal artist who plays alot with scale and illusion. Alot of his other works are pretty interesting to if you want to check him out you can go to
http://interiors.intendo.net/magritte.html
So anyway, what I plan to do with "The Listening Room" is mostly replicate it, but at the same time I am hoping to enhance the coloring of the apple with the glazing technique, we used in the last assignment. And also with a complimentary color scheme (red walls against the very green apple), I am hoping this will make the apple "pop." I am however changing the composition a little bit by adding a surrounding scene. This will mostly just consist of objects from my dorm room. I am thinking this could add to the apple by making it the obvious focal point to a busy scene. Well I hope this works out for me. Good luck to everyone else too!