7 days in the Art World- Quotes and Commentary

The Crit:

(p 45) "Although Asher has a steady museum career, the real importance of his art lies in the way it has inspired a dynamic oral culture."

-I was able to relate to the work of Michael Asher because it makes valid statements about the art world. He points out the importance of critiques and communication with his marathon crits, and the overlooked business aspects of galleries when he removed the wall that separated the office from the actual gallery.

(p 69) "'for art students, the people who matter most are the peer group." Artists need 'friendships with an inbuilt critique' as a context for the development of their work"

- I find this to be true among my peers. I find that a lot of students like talking about their work with friends and get a lot from what they have to say. There are formal critiques with teachers involved but there are also several "inbuilt critiques" that happen before this.


(p 48)"Each student has set up camp, staked out some territory, and distinguished him- or herself with a pet, pose, or some signature activity."

-It might just be because these students are from California, but I really hated the way she described the students that attended the critique. I was eager to hear what would be said in the crit, but unfortunately the few quotes that she included lacked depth and I was disappointed that Michael Asher didn't speak much. I know that he strategically doesn't give input and it did add to his character, but I would have liked to have read about a more eventful crit instead it seemed like everyone was asleep or doing something else. I just hope that's not the reality of all graduate critiques.

(p 55-56)"'We all contradict each other,' says Leslie Dick- but the prevailing belief is that any artist whose work fails to display some conceptual rigor is little more than a pretender, illustrator, or designer."

"up to the wrist" "down to the wrist"

- I like the 'up and down to the wrist' analogy for conceptual and fine art, but Leslie Dick's comment was a little insulting to me. A pretender? that's harsh to say and then to put illustrators and designers in that same category is pretty bold. I agree that no concept rigor falls under a pretender, but how does she figure that illustrators and designers don't include concept as an artist?


(p54-55) "'Never go to the wall text. Never ask the artist. Learn to read the work.'" -Mary Kelly

-Learning to read work is so important, which is what crits are for. I like Kelly's idea on how critiques should be run with the artist speaking after everyone else, so that the artist can get unbiased opinions and comments.

The Fair

(p 91) "'A collection is more than the sum of its parts. It creates something unique,' says Logsdail. The worst collections are scrambled, disjointed, and "fickle. The best have 'a driving force.'"

-It was interesting to hear what collectors had to say about what makes a good collection.

(p 92-93) "More and more collectors are opening their own exhibition spaces."




(p 98) "Poe believes that an art fair can be a tough environment for an artist. 'If they are any good, they make art because they have to... They don't do it to please the market. So for some artists, hanging out here can mess with their heads. Also, let's face it, this is not the optimum place to exhibit work. The subtle notes in artworks are drowned out by the cacophony.'"

- I honestly did not even realize as an artist that these fairs existed, and I was getting a little troubled when reading about it, so I thought that this was a good quote. I was unaware that this was what it takes to be an artist that sells work, and would not want to attend one of these fairs unless I decide to work in the gallery business. I was relieved to read that artists don't really have to see this part of the art world and it is more the dealers responsibility to fill the void between the two, but it is definitely something to be aware of now.

The studio visit

(p 188) "Murakami is a stickler for documenting every layer of a painting, so that he can follow the process even when he is out of town and look back on the layers to reproduce similar effects in future works."

(p 196-197)

"'Every morning I upset people... I used to think that my staff were motivated by money, but the most important thing for creative people is the sense that they are learning. It's like video game. The have frustration with my high expectations, so when they get my 'yes' for their work, the feel like they've won a level'"

-Murakami doesn't seem that bad, and I would completely value working as an artist assistant. It is definitely worth the learning experience and if it pays to allow you to be an artist, which it does for his assistants, than that is all the better. Being an assistant can be really rewarding, and the painting director, Sugimoto-san, who has worked for 10 years for Murakami has a lot of respect and talent which is just as good as fame.

"Vector art software like illustrator, which allows the user to stretch, contort, and scale up images without any degradation, has transformed the design industry, but relatively few fine artists use it."

-This quote wasn't too surprising to read, but design programs are really transforming the way artists work and it's become more important to know in this generation of artists

(p 199)"A studio is supposed to be a site of intense contemplation. Murakami does not have a preferred thinking space or somewhere that he feels is the heart of his studio."

-Wherever the work gets done is a studio in my eyes.

Web Authoring Portfolio

Ive been working a lot more on my website for web authoring. It is a portfolio site that is still in progress. I plan to work on the design and information and then I need better pictures of my work add more work. Give me suggestions and if anyone wants to help me with my work documentation, let me know :)

eden.rutgers.edu/~rsepst/425/midterm/home.htm

Matt Soar- “Fail Again, Fail Better”

Design Observer Review

The idea of failure is always scary, but if you learn to embrace failure as a learning experience then you are guaranteed to get more from the failure than if you just dwell upon it. This idea is what Matt Soar writes about in his article “Fail Again, Fail Better.” He explores the mistakes made from several designers and their reaction and way of dealing with a potential failure. Some of the accidents occurred with a malfunctioning program that distorted the image they were working on, but in the end was a more perfect connection to the project goal. Other mistake happened out of the designer’s control, but was taken light heartedly and helped the designer with ideas for future projects. Being a design student, I feel that failures, accidents, and mistakes are the only way to really grow as a designer. There will always be something that is overlooked, but with every mistake that gets pointed out you gain the knowledge of looking for that mistake in future projects. I also find that keeping failed projects or rough drafts/sketches become useful for future inspiration or used in other art projects. This was really positive article to read since it reinforces the idea that everyone makes mistakes, even famous designers.

MFA show

This might have been one of the more memorable shows that I've seen in the Mason Gross gallery. Even though the addition of the wall was not a huge change, it definitely effected the way I navigated through the show. Usually I would walk through the biggest room before any other rooms, but with the wall there, I viewed the artwork to the right of the entrance and then continued through the right rooms and eventually made it around. I can't say that the wall was strictly the reason I was attracted to the right first since I was particularly attracted to the photographs and thought that they were reminiscent of avant gard fashion. They reminded me of Lady Gaga though, which is 'so in right now.'

In response to the artwork on the added wall, I think that it might want to be reconsidered. the space that faced the doors are the first works that will be seen and yet were least impressive. They were small paintings that appeared to be sloppy. On the other hand on the inside of the wall was a favorite piece of mine. The white sculptures that hung on the wall were painted in color on the back which cast a colored shadow on the wall. I thought that these were impressive work so that its location might want to be rethought since its placement might not utilize the lighting as well since it is on a wall with a corner.

Graduate School isn't for me.

So I've heard a lot of different options and opinions about graduate school over the years and especially this year in particular. I have always had a love/hate relationship when it came to school, and although I thought it was a waste of time and I never wanted to go, I do love to learn and think of knowledge as power so it has always been a struggle. I'm really eager to get out in the world and experience trying to make connections, producing my own work, and making a living even if it's an even bigger struggle. Also, another factor in my decision to wait on grad school was that I am not sure what I would want to pursue in it since I have several strong interests in painting, collage, and art history along with my concentration of graphic design. Given a year or so to find a direction is probably a good idea.I definitely would consider going to graduate school a year or two after graduation after I have built a stronger network and experienced working as an artist, building my resume. Then, strictly from the information and opinions from my classes, teachers, and other students, I want to say that if I apply to a graduate school I would like to apply to Yale University as my first choice, but also apply to Mason Gross and possibly RISD.

The Zimmerli

Blocks of Color: American Woodcuts from the 1890s to the present

I went to the Zimmerli this week to see the new wood block exhibition. The color woodblocks were from a range of American artists and influences from the 1890's to present. There were many prints that were inspired by Japanese prints because prints like these originated in Japan and were once imported by wealthy families in Europe and America. These woodblock prints reflected Japanese prints both in composition and subject matter. Some incorporated people and others were landscape. There were also some that were abstract or design and color. I have never worked with woodblocks before, but the pieces were reminiscent of watercolor paintings. I honestly did not feel any connection to any pieces from this show, but I might have taken a couple to decorate a living room in my house.

I wandered the Zimmerli some more to see if there was anything else that would inspire me or that I could connect with, but the only other piece that caught my attention was a photorelief print by Georges Meunier since it looked like a Toulouse Latrec print. Meunier is a French artist and the piece "A program for El Dorado" is similar to the work Latrec would have done as well.

Exhibition of my choice...

Mark Bradford & Kara Walker Exhibition
Last weekend I went to Chelsea to see the Kara Walker exhibit at Sikkema Jenkins & Co. She was exhibiting with Mark Bradford, which I thought was a good collaboration because at first viewing of the show I hardly noticed that there was more than one exhibitor. They both used collage and cut paper in their work that focused on societal and cultural issues. It only took a moment for me to recognize Kara walker's work from freshman year art making class where we did a paper cutout assignment that was inspired by her. Something I admire about her work is her craftsmanship. Her paper sculptures were meticulous and elegant. Aside from her notorious black and white silhouette pieces she had some color works with intricate details and a couple large pieces in this exhibition where she used white paint over paper. This really forced her viewers to look at the painting in order to see everything presented in it. The works were very beautiful and elegant, but the content mostly dealt with race, sexuality, and violence in a grotesque manner.
Through the last room of the gallery, almost unnoticed, was a small room where there was a pretty amazing film of hers playing was pretty amazing. I'm really interested in film and I thought that her use of the black-silhouetted figures in her silent film aided in the style of movie. I thought it was absolutely amazing how real she was able to depict body movement through paper dolls. The music the film was reminiscent of music that would play if watching a show of marionettes and changed with the tempo of the plot. The content of the movie was violent and captivating evolving into a fight scene of African slaves against white farmers.

Last week's Chelsea Gallery Visit cont.

(Blue Lake Pass)



MAYA LIN: Three Ways of Looking at the Earth
PaceWildenstein
Maya Lin’s show at the PaceWildenstein was truly extraordinary in size and content. The gallery itself is a huge space, but her work filled the gallery space almost entirely, forcing people to walk around and through the different sculptures. The show consisted of three pieces and was titled “Maya Lin: Three Ways of Looking at the Earth,” which are selections from her environmental installations, “Systematic Landscapes.”
The first piece was a topographic sculpture made of cut 2x4s, called 2 x 4 Landscape, which she systematically placed on the floor to build what looks like a hill or a wave. This piece, although tempting, was not meant to have viewer interaction and there was a pathway around the massive work. Similar in her use of stacked wood material, her second piece Blue Lake Pass uses cut plywood sheets to topographically suggest the narrow passageways of a region of mountains in Colorado. Lin calculated these mountain passages and scaled them down into twenty units that she spaced like a grid where the viewer is able to walk through and around each unit. The final piece, Water Line, was constructed of wire and reflected a map of the ocean floor down the Mid-Atlantic ridge. This piece differed in material as well as placement in the gallery since it hung from the ceiling where viewers were able to walk underneath it. I thought that the addition of the third piece was strategic since it introduced a new medium as well as another type of landscape. It also put the viewer in the interesting position of walking underneath the represented ocean floor.
The visual aspects of Maya Lin’s large-scale sculptures were really thought out and constructed from her research of the actual environment. The topographic research behind each piece emphasized her interest and concern to express new environmental issues of the world we inhabit.



(2x4 Landscape)

Design Observer Review

Virginia Smith
Two Dutch Logos




This article gave a review on two dutch logos, one a new logo for the Hague by Anton Corbijn and the other the logo for the DOCOMOMO in Rotterdam designed by David Knowles. Smith talks about how design and the Netherlands were developing, and the ideas behind each design. I couldn't help but think back to the Aperture gallery that is exhibiting Nature as Artifice: New Dutch Landscape in Photography and Video Art, and how that relates to these logo designs. Knowles' design seemed to be a lot more effective in its purpose- It definitely portrayed modernism with the use bold futura and two cool shades of blue/purple. When thinking about the transformation of Dutch landscape, this design most definitely alludes to new architectural design in Dutch landscape. Unfortunate to say, I found Corbijn's logo design to be careless and ineffective. Smith mentioned that his idea behind the logo was merely following the orders of the commissioner, "make it emphasized the city's freedom." A kite to symbolize freedom- how cliche. :/ anyway, it gets worse when he defines the parts of the logo saying "The blue stroke is intended to evoke The Hague’s location near the sea...while the yellow, green and black strokes allude to Mondrian's painting Victory Boogie Woogie which is in the city's collection." How thoughtless. If he put any deeper thoughts into the construction of this logo, the allude to Mondrian would not be so painterly, and rather more geometric and/or accompanied with a modern typeface. Sadly, Mondrian's painting that he refers to does not even contain the color green. It is also noted that his experience with criticism allows for him to not care what other people say about his work- maybe Corbijn should just stick to photography since the effectiveness of a design is important and goes hand in hand with what people think about it.

Interview with Naqeeb Stevens

So I thought that the interview assignment would be a lot more painful than it actually turned out to be. I interviewed Naqeeb Stevens and we ended up having a really good experience with it. I got to learn a lot about what it was like for him as a student and photographer. We talked for a while before the actual taping of the interview so the video sometimes seems more like a conversation. Naqeeb is interested in getting a narrative from his photographs. Sometimes he succeeds with a single photograph and other times his narration comes with a series of photographs. He talks about his decisions in capturing narratives around 2:45min of the video. This is the photograph that is specifically talked about.



At 6:40min we talked about his participation in the BFA show with an abstract video commenting on social networking. I asked him about the concept behind it and his view on using abstraction in his work. He basically feels that he will use abstraction if it is necessary in what he is trying to depict.

I show some photographs at 8:44min that he printed from his camera phone and talked about the quality of the photographs and what makes them interesting due to the convenience and availability of the camera.

Robert Miller Gallery

Chelsea Galleries- Visit One 9/25/09

Today I went to Chelsea to see the shows that were assigned for Thesis. I saw them all and some others that caught my eye as I walked down the blocks of galleries. The show I particularly liked and want to discuss is the Barthelemy Toguo solo show, The Pregnant Mountain at the Robert Miller Gallery. The room that caught my attention was the installation called "The AIDS issue cannot be solved thanks to the distribution of of condoms," which is a clever and profound re-working of a statement made by Pope Benedict XVI addressing the AIDS crisis. Installed in the room was a stylized representation of an African hospital ward with beds set up and clothes piled on top. The floor was lined with cardboard banana boxes, a popular export of Africa as well as a phallic object. When viewing this installation I couldn't help but to think back to the David Goldblatt's photography exhibit at the New Museum and his depiction of AIDS in South Africa. They both took political stance on the issue, but I felt as if Toguo had a stronger effect on me even with the overwhelming amount of red AIDS ribbons and poverty depicted in Goldblatt's photographs. In fact, there were hardly any literal depictions of AIDS in Toguo's installation. His successful subtle way of addressing such a hard issue impressed me greatly. (pictures and more posts coming soon...)

Design Observer Article Review

Michael Bierut
26 Years, 85 Notebooks
http://observatory.designobserver.com/entry.html?entry=6067

I really enjoyed reading this article by Michael Bierut about his notebooks that he kept over the past 26 years because I found a lot of similarities in the way I keep my notebooks, although unlike him, I call them sketchbooks regardless of the amount of sketching that actually takes place in them. I bring my sketchbook everywhere and anywhere and take down notes from class, thoughts and ideas, numbers, addresses, anything really, and I like to stuff found papers and notes in my books for things to look back on. It was nice and reassuring that I had similar ways of keeping sketchbooks. It made me laugh reading about his attachment to his notebooks (and his obsession with a particular type of mead composition book) because it's something that is so simple but especially important to all artists. It's exciting to start collecting books of my own (since I only have completed a few) so that I'll be able to reflect back on times in my life and find new inspirations like Bierut talks about. I wonder since he didn't touch upon, but I assume he does not, if he starts new notebooks if his old one is not completed because I work in several books simultaneously.

Web Authoring

If anyone wants to see the site I'm making in Web Authoring- this is the link. I'll be working on it more and more. It's nothing special, but I wrote the codes all by myself :)


eden.rutgers.edu/~rsepst/425/drafts/bio2.htm

Alex Bag Video

Wellllll.. i was like really inspiired by Alex Bag's video because umm.. it spoke for the art students of our generation, ya kno?!
[in the voice of Alex Bag]

I thought that the skits in the Alex Bag video were pretty funny aside from the portrayal of an art school student- I found it annoying that she would stereotype art students like that, but maybe I just didn't understand it. If I were to look past the first three semesters of her SVA experience then I could relate better to her venting about her frustrations at school.

The Hello Kitty skit was hilarious- made me LOL. A lot of her skits reminded me of The Tim and Eric Awesome Show without the animation and video tricks.

A Bucket of Blood

A Bucket of Blood is a satire about the art world. Walter Paisley is a waiter to the acclaimed artists and beat poets of the area eager for his own invitation and acceptance into the clique. I found it sad that he was so desperate to be known and liked as an artist, but then again it was apparent that he was mentally unstable and did not completely know what was going on. I know the whole comedic aspect of the movie was that his life changed and dreams of being an artist came true by accidentally killing his neighbor's cat and submitting it as a sculpture, but it's disheartening to think that the art world can be so cruel and superficial- one day he is not recognized as anything more than a servant and the next day he is offered a seat at the artist table.

New Museum Visit

The photography exhibit by David Goldblatt showed the hardships of apartheid in South Africa over a 50 year period and exhibited his older black and white photographs with the newer and often larger colored photographs. When comparing his older photos with the newer ones, I did not see a distinct difference in the subject matter. It seemed as if the colored photographs focused on the AIDS epidemic rather than the effects of apartheid. I liked that his photographs weren't staged or used as propaganda and protest material, but were merely a glimpse into where he was living and the photographs were able to speak for themselves. This aspect of his photographs allowed the people depicted to not be pitied for their circumstances, but instead showed them with dignity for living light-heartily with such hardships. On the other hand, Emory Douglas's show was strictly protest material from his involvement with the Black Panther group in the late 60's and 70's, but instead of photography, he showed his prints and illustrations from magazines, flyers, and posters. I thought the show really defined the culture and art style of that decade and held the historical context showing key figures and events dealing with racial segregation. The layering of drawn and photographed images over colored design made a loud statement that was full of energy. The work was powerful aside from knowing that it was actually used and effective in the movement. The last show I saw was the title "Lioness" by Dorothy Iannone, which I found to be overly perverted. I appreciate the shock value of sex, but I got the impression that I was walking into the bedroom of a nympho. The art aspect of the show was definitely lost and I felt as if the show was surviving on its shock value.