VH1 Rock Honors

So for my B-day my wonderful hubby is taking me to LA to the VH1 Rock Honors The Who with performances by Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, Flaming Lips, and other special guests-AAHHHHH I am so happy-we got sick ass floor seats with great views-I am so excited, this is a once in a lfetime opportunity-what to wear???!! Happy B-day To MEEEEEE

out

More Book Pics

My niece and her wifey- Stephanie and Monique, oh and their cat :)

These are two more pics that I put in my book that I really liked.

My Book

So I should have posted this the other night, but it was 11:06 pm on Wednesday April 23, 2008, when I finally finished my book.  Garrette and I were the only ones left in the lab, and poor Garrette wasn't done when I left. (Garrette is really funny when he is sleep deprive by the way)  I should've stayed with him, but had an hour drive home awaiting me, and If I wouldn't have left, I would've been sleeping in ARTs 239-maybe I should have done that seeing as I had to turn around Thursday and come right back for Film Theory and Tony Allard's Arts in Cyberspace class. wow that was a run on sentence...anyhoo, I titled my book "Who Am I?" seeing as  don't really know, but I do know who inspires me, and those are some of the people I put in my book.

ok I am babbling yet again...this I think is my favorite pic from the book.  It is my niece, in several layers with some lyrics from "No One Else" by Weezer

Eddie Vedder

Living in San Diego, CA is great, we have sunshine most of the time, access to the beach, the mountains, and of course, we are partially responsible for having shaped he who is Eddie Vedder.  Eddie is like this enigma that I can't quite wrap myself around (although I'd be more than happy to try).  Once known for simply being a rocker, front man to the band Pearl Jam and  overall comedic jackass-Eddie  is now involved in activism regarding the Iraq War (Body of War-a must see documentary), a supporter of the west mephis 3 check it out 

www.wm3.org

he is involved in the Surfrider foundation as well as other environmentally friendly causes.  I can say it-I love Eddie.  I am ok with that, my husband is too.  After 15 years of loving him from afar-on April 15, I got to see him live in concert-finally.  The vibe there was sooooo good.  His humor, his passion, his voice, ahhhh I could go on forever, but yes I love Eddie!

ok I'm done 

My Book

Will I ever be done??????

The more I try, the more I want to change..

Maybe I should just leave it alone....

Indecisiveness

Exhibition Visit # 3-MOPA

The third exhibition that I attended was at The Museum of Photographic Arts (MOPA) in Balboa Park, San Diego, CA.  Some artists and works that really caught my attention were Masumi Hayashi, and her "The Saint and the Market Place" in the Meenakshi Temple, in India 2002.  This was a chromogenic print, and the colors were simply amazing.  It is hard to captivate someone with color, but Hayashi achieved it with this print.  Her use of collage in her work also made the piece stand out.  Secondly I really liked Neil Folberg.  His ability to capture a feeling with his work was great.  The mist on his photo, "Sacred Lake near the Temple of Amon, Egypt" really gave a feeling of peaceful eeriness.  The contrast in his pieces made his work really breathtaking.  Although I couldn't find online pictures of the photos i liked the best, I did wan to post some of the additional pieces by the artists I really liked.

The collage picture is by Masumi Hayashi and is of the Big D Campground in Ohio.

The black and white picture is by Neil Folberg and is titled "Olive Tree" 

Exhibition Visit #2- Cannon Art Gallery

Sadly, when I went to the Cannon Art Gallery, the National Geographic Exhibit was already taken down as of March 30.  The new exhibit was called "On Flowers" and showcased artists' paintings, artwork and installation work, all based on beautiful flowers.  So I am going to review some of the artists being showcased in the "On Flowers" exhibit, but I did want to mention a few of the photographs that were in the National Geographic exhibit that I was drawn to.  

The picture by Thomas J. Ambercrombie struck me.  The Afghan woman was just so striking with this birdcage on her head, something to her culture that is just commonplace, made for an interesting and beautiful photograph.

Another photo that stood out was that of the little girl near the Artic Circle by Dean Conger.  The look on the child's face that Conger captures transcends time and location.  All children can express this joyful innocence and this one, surrounded by snow and cold, is very warm and engaging.

The "On Flowers" exhibit artists that I found engaging were Sandra Sallin and Timothy Berry

Sallin's paintings of close-ups of flowers were amazing.  The petals  she created seemed almost tissue like.  She also had some very interesting choices regarding the compsitions she choose for the paintings.

Berry's work was very engaging.  The paintings almost took on an Asian feeling.  Berry's work also had great texture.

Guest Speaker: Diane Willow

It was such a treat to be able to view some of Diane's work while having her explain her thought process and inspirations behind each piece.  Something I found very interesting was when she created the rocking chair piece for the MIT campus.  She said that there had been numerous suicides on campus and she wanted to do something for which she felt she could contribute.  So she created this chair for students to sit in; it had all the elements of a stress reliever such as an enclosed feeling, a rocking motion and sounds upon movement.  I thought it was a wonderful idea and what is an artists' purpose if not to give back to the community from which you belong?  Once you have made something of yourself to be able to honor and help your community is such a blessing, and even though it wasn't our school directly, I thank her for that.

Exhibition Visit 1-Ordover Gallery-Wes Timmerman

Date: Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Location: The Ordover Gallery at The San Diego Natural History Museum, San Diego, CA

Photographer: Wes Timmerman

The third Photographer I reviewed was Wes Timmerman.   Timmerman's photographs of landscapes take on a painting-like quality reminiscent of Ansel Adams.  His use of light and color give his prints a luminescent glow that draws the viewer in and transports you to a far away place.

Exhibition Visit 1-Ordover Gallery-Elizabeth Carmel

Date: Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Location: Ordover Gallery at the San Diego Natural History Museum, San Diego, CA

Photographer: Elizabeth Carmel

The second photographer that I chose to review from the Ordover was Elizabeth Carmel.  The colors captured in Carmel's photos were so clear that I found myself staring at them for a matter of minutes.  Carmel's photos gave me a sense of calm where-as Ralph Lee Hopkins' work gave off a more playful tone.

Exhibition Visit 1-Ordover Gallery-Ralph Lee Hopkins

Date: Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Location: Ordover Gallery at the San Diego Natural History Museum, San Diego, CA

Photographer: Ralph Lee Hopkins

 My first museum visit was to the Ordover Gallery and I viewed the Photography at the Poles exhibit.  I was really drawn to the photographer, Ralph Lee Hopkins.  The first photo, "Flying Penguin"  shows Hopkins' ability to grasp the playful side of penguins.  In an isolated area, such as the poles, Hopkins gives life to it's inhabitants, thereby making the area seem full of life and action.  My favorite picture of his was "Walrus Kiss" and I couldn't find a picture that I was able to copy from the internet, so from the ordover gallery's website, I took a screen shot of the picture to show the amazing detail that Hopkins captured.  The Ordovery Gallery was a great place to showcase all of the Photography at the Poles.

Jim Brandenburg

Watching the video of Jim Brandenburg's photograph really made me stop and think what am I doing here?  I don't know if I could have the decisiveness that Brandenburg had to had come up with to only choose to capture one picture a day.  Examining my own style of art making and photography I tend to over-think and over-analyze everything, making two, three, or ten images, or paintings, afraid of not knowing which one will be best.  I made nine panoramas for one assignment and still am having trouble selecting which one I like best.  The courage that Brandenburg showed by only allowing himself the single shot is a true testament to the creative, patient man that he is.

*I will add some of Brandenburg's pics.later-my computer and blogger.com are not getting along--

working on accordian part II

I was thinking of using the second set of pics that I shot the same day as the first set of my neices, but this time they had changed into their "princess outfits-they took on a kind of child-like fairy look that I thought would look good as a set. I think I might use some brushes or maybe change the saturation.

Richard Misrach

Viewing the works of Richard Misrach gave me an overall sense of peace.  Seeing the human intervention in his calm works almost gave the pieces a sense of humor.  The lighting in Misrach's work was absolutely phenomenal.  The way he captures the "silver-lining" so-to-speak, as it comes out of the clouds, especially in his desert series, makes the place almost seem magical.  A sort of fantasy-like beauty that one normally wouldn't think of in a desert.

Sally Mann

Sometimes a dog bone, really is just a dog bone.  Watching Sally Mann describe her photos made me think of my own artwork-sometimes there really isn't any hidden, Freudian meaning.  Her pictures of her children at play were just that-children at play.  Although the staging of some was time consuming, Mann didn't set out with the idea-"okay, today is naked picture day" Most children when playing, hate clothes-any chance they get, they strip.  We need to ask ourselves, what is wrong with us that when we see something as natural as nudity, we automatically think of child porn.  

Collier Schorr

After watching the video on Collier Schorr, I started to take a greater look at what my subjects actually were and how they apply to me.  Exposing this hidden side.  Schorr photographs teenage boys on wrestling teams, she says for many reasons including because she was expressing how it would have been if she were a boy.  This brought up a range of emotions for me.  It brought me back to high school where I didn't always fit in.  If i could have been a boy on the wrestling team, maybe I would have.  Schorr's exploration into the gambit of emotions from the wrestlers perspective is dead on.  Having dated a wrestler in high school and being involved with every facet of the sport, I got to see the extreme highs, the severe lows and everything in between.  The dedication that the sport entails; the sweat, blood, tears, exhaustion are commonplace which Schorr captures beautifully.

The Balance of Roni Horn

Roni Horn, Photographer, sculpture, artist, are all titles to describe my newest favorite artist although she prefers none of them.  The main points I found most prevalent in Horn's work were sensuality,water,  architecture, and psychology.  With the series of close-up water photos that were placed throughout a school Horn gave the viewer a chance to mimic the photo.  Water is peaceful, water flows, the students became calmer the longer the photos were up.  My favorite of the examples shown were the photos that were all of the same subject.  The woman's face over and over again as she is in the water I thought were beautiful.  The eye contact that the subject gives the viewer through the lens give a feeling of sensuality or closeness thereby inducing trust.  A point I think Horn is trying to focus on is the balance between soft sensuality and hard architecture.  When she shoots the inside of the locker room with it's tiled walls and floors, she offsets that with the sensuality of the women-are they nude? are they clothed? why are we seeing them through a peephole? they are blurred and that too adds a dimension to the work of wonderment and sensuality.

Focusing on my book

So since this book has to be an examination, if you will, on myself, I decided to combine a few of my favorite things-painting, cosmetics and hair, and my family.  I've decided to take a selection of some of my paintings and transform my family members into live pieces of art.  Here are some examples of my work that I've been thinking of using.I have more that I would like to work with, but don't have them photographed yet.

Brushes

So I went to brusheezy.com and uploaded some styles to photoshop.  I played around a bit with the next set of pictures for my second accordion card.

Stefan Sagmeister

I watched the TED talk with Stefan Sagmeister, where he is discussing how design can make you happy.  Watching Sagmeister really made me for one believe that yes,  in fact design had made him happy.  Then actually looking up Sagmeister's website and viewing some of his work or the work he has directed, in a strange sense, it made me happy.  It just felt happy.  With the text he uses and the fonts, they just seemed, well, happy. The chicken with it's head cut off photo, that says "HURRY" made me laugh because even though indeed it is a decapitated chicken, Sagmeister captures a gleefulness about this notion.  We all at one point have run around hurrying like a chicken with it's head cut off, actually seeing a visual reminds me of how silly it all really is.

David Carson response

So since I missed class, I decided to do some research and watch some videos on Carson and post the videos along with my responses. so here it goes

One of the most poignant things I found Carson to say is that

"it's a very thin line between simple,

and clean and powerful and simple, and clean and boring." 

I think you can apply that to almost any

situation in your artwork. If your intent in fact, is not to be boring. 

Carson using the words themselves

and the manner in which they are strewn together,

or their font, as the actual or art is really genius.

In this second video I think makes an important point that 

your work needs to in a sense be "self-indulgent" or why

would you want to spend so much time working on it. If

you are putting yourself so much into something I think you 

are truly going to appreciate it and maybe make it better

that if you didn't really care.  

When Carson states that in making his magazine, he treated 

each issue as it was the last made me think of those people

who live each day to the fullest, or live each day like it may

be their last. They always seem to have such a zest for

everything. Maybe that is why Carson's work seems so

enchanting.

Accordion Fold Card

 So, I am at home nursing a sprained ankle and checked out what everyone was doing on their blog and it seems everyone posted their accordion cards.  So here is mine; I took pictures of my nieces in their backyard playing.  I desaturated the color and added a warm photo filter in photoshop.  I also added some text to a few of them.  I still have not received the actual card in the mail, I hope it is here soon!!

music for blogs

imeem.com

projectplaylist.com

music for blogs

Experiments with Bridge and Photoshop

Ok, so I took my nieces to "Disney on Ice, Princess Wishes," fun stuff!  The colors on stage were great and in photoshop they look even better!

Writing Exercise 1/23/08

Writing exercise 1/23/08

 

As artist’s, what are your sources of inspiration?  How do you feed your head/heart/hand?

 

As an artist my sources of inspiration generally come from my family and those that surround me.  I see these people, some old, and some young, as endless sources of knowledge and life experience.  I try and become a sponge when I am around them and soak in any information I can gather.  I then in turn use that information for my own selfish advantage.  Whether it is through a written document or a painting these people’s experiences help form my visions.

Another source of inspiration for me is color and cosmetics.   I think the ability to take a blank canvas, such as a face, and watch it transform or a metamorphosis if you will is amazing.  Cosmetics can ultimately change someone’s entire appearance.  As an art form I love the ability to use creativity when applying make-up to someone and create this “piece” of living art.

I feed my head with trying to view others’ art that inspires me.  When I look at something, from paintings to fashion photography, if it causes me to want to be passionate and create my own art, then I believe it’s done its job.

I feed my heart by surrounding myself with loved ones whenever possible.  They propel me forward even when I think I can go no more.  They help me see each individual experience as a chance for a piece of art to be made.

I feed my hand by allowing myself to experiment with new forms of art- writing, photography, cosmetics application, rather than staying in my element with painting.  I figure you can always learn more and there are many opportunities to do so.

Accordion Photos

So I am trying to think of an interesting set of photos to take for my upcoming project, and it seems like the more I think, the worse it gets.  Nothing even seems interesting enough at this point to just start shooting at.  I think I have a block.

Edward Burtynsky

Burtynsky's photos that were shown in his video really grasps the notion that more is in fact more.  The photos of the factories and skyscrapers in China are really what caught my eye.  In particular, the sheer amount of "things."  It almost was a form of abstract art when the photos were shown full screen-then when you actually look at what that photo is-it is astonishing.

The first photo above is of one of the factories on it's lunch break- the way Burtynsky has captured the movement in the photo with the pink uniforms is exceptional.  In the second photo, oil filters overtake the entire frame and that is what really left me in awe.

Responding to War Photographer James Nachtwey

Once you see something so profound as Nachtwey's sample of war photographs, you can't pretend that you didn't see it.  You can't pretend that that side of our world doesn't exist.  I feel like much society focuses on the boundaries of their own lives.  The mundane problems of everyday life that they are personally dealing with.  Unless you personally know someone who is in a war, or who has been to war, you are generally sheltered from what really is going on.  Nachtwey puts these visions out there and once you see them, you can't go back.  Paris Hilton exposing herself really isn't that important anymore.  My credit card bill isn't really entering my mind.  In one of his photos there is a man who most likely on the brink of death from starvation.  

he literally is a skeleton.  Skin hanging on bones.  No muscles, no fat, it made me wonder, where are his internal organs?  Have they shrunk? I think of the bounty of food I have in my refrigerator-

 or the food that is wasted everyday by even just the homes on my street.  What would this man have given, just for my garbage.  Just for the leftover rice that was hard, and so I threw out.  I can never go back and act like I didn't see that man, who still found the will to move about.  Of course, I personally have seen other war photographs, and other photographs of starving people, however, there was something in the power of this particular photograph that stuck with me.  Something that made me feel ashamed on what I waste, what I am picky about, or my ridiculous complaints about the lunch i didn't care for.  I am ashamed.  I am ashamed for my own actions and for the actions of those I know.  I consider myself a compassionate person.  Someone who is fairly knowledgeable of the world, but seeing especially this one image-makes me really want to reexamine my own way of living.