Reflecting the end of the Semester

As I reflect on thesis it becomes clear that this semester has been a learning expirence for me.  Writing the paper was a challenge because it had to be written and submitted before the series was completed.  Now I feel that this is the right time to say what I did not say in my paper.

When I was creating the sculptural forms I held the process to be an important characteristic in each form.  The transition of working from one form to another has made myself and the materials speak, through tares, drip marks, and evidential physical interaction between myself the materials and the materials amongst themselves.  Everything that was produced during the process was created so that by allowing the materials to take control pure sculptural form would be achieved.  Pure sculptural form signifies the finished creation that a process produces.  It is not meant to be representational and what ever the outcome it is due to the process that allows the artist and the material(s) to be accounted for and present in the end. 

At the completion of the series and the forms were installed in the show, I had my visiting artist critique with Ethan Greenbaum.  The discussion opened my eyes to possibly introducing the act of documentation during the process.  So that in the end what is shown to the viewer is not only the forms but documentation (video or photographs) of what transpired.  Aside from also giving me names of artists that would be helpful to look at, I left that critique feeling great knowing that someone who has never seen my work can breathe new life into each piece through their own representation.  Witnessing that has made me value my process and appreciate the abstract physical characteristics the forms hold in a representational world. 



Journal Entry

Since it has been awhile since I had a thesis crit, I just thought I would post pictures of what I have done to show everyone where I am at in my thesis.  In my sculpture class with Patrick Strezlec, I have had mini crits and they have been extremely helpful.  Here are some pics....

  Thesis Crit #1 (Friday 1-29-11)

The thesis crit on Friday went very well.  Everyone had positive feedback and seemed to understand what my intentions for making such work.  The only thing that was suggested that I think about is where my work will be shown in the show.  It was suggested that I ask for one of the back rooms, but I do not know if I will need all that space now since certain things have changed.  Since talking to my crit group, my hopes for a large scale work that would have people walking in and out of does not seem so likely since the paper is not as sturdy and the wax would not help the situation.  Right now I am working on sculpture that is 44 3/4" by around 60".  Although I can not say for sure what my work will look like for the show, I know what it will incorporate in terms of materials and the process.  Below are pictures of the work that I showed on Friday and is my inspiration for my thesis project.  

   

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Journal Entry

Posted below are pics that I have taken of my most recent work to show what it is that I have been working on.  Latley I have been inspired by the piece that I made for the water show, Under the Wave, the Zero Group, Enrico Castellani, Lucio Fontana, and Heinz Mack. 

Under the Wave

The two above are made out of matboard and stiffened with resin.  One of my main objectives was to give the matboard another identity.  So that when it was looked upon people would not see matboard but maybe another material.  After discussing the works with my professor, I went to sheet metal.  The process involving the sheet metal is very much less time consuming then the matboard and resin.  Also, my professor kept on telling me that my process had to be shorter because I was too involved with making sure that the end result was nothing but perfection.  I realize that working in such a manner only limits myself because the lengthy process was not allowing me to see the full potential of the material that was being used.  Below are pics of my first attempts with using metal.

                                                 

                                                 

What I was thinking alot about when I was making the sculpture above was light and form.  When I look upon sculputure, not just work that I make, the way light travels around an object grabs me.  The way light covers a three dimensional object reminds me of when sunlight covers a vast open field.                                                               

F L U X on Vimeo video:  This video was created by artists from Plato Art Space.  It is based on the work of Ilhan Koman.  The link is below.
http://www.vimeo.com/15395471



Ilhan Koman

THINK THINK THINK

A Happy Find at the MOMA



Herbert Ferber, Portrait of D.H. II, 1948



Yesterday (Friday 10/1) I went on a field trip to the Moma with my Seminar in Sculpture class.  While there I discovered the work of Herbert Ferber, who is probably my new favorite artist now.  He had two identities: dentist and abstract expressionist painter and sculptor.  Also in the same room where works by Louise Bourgeois that I thought were fantastic and appropriately placed near Ferber’s work.  Here are a few photos of Ferber's work, which I will put in my studio. 




Herbert Ferber, Study for the Flood, 1956.

  

Herbert Ferber, The Flood, 1956.

 These photos are from artstor.org and The Jewish Mueseum.  I am going to have to go back to the MOMA to photograph his work since there is not a good selection of work when looking on the internet. 



Installation view of the Welcome Back show at
the Mason Gross Galleries

Welcome Back Exhibition

To mark the beginning of the fall 2010 semester, Mason Gross School of the Arts held a special visual arts exhibition at the school’s

Civic Square

location in New Brunswick.  Entitled, Welcome Back, the show consists of works done by faculty, staff, and second year graduate students, in total forty artists showed.  Put together by the second year graduate students, the art was spread throughout five rooms and included such mediums as painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, mixed media, and even poetry.  For me, the works by Bryan Whitney, Patrick Strzelec, Erin Dunn, and Eileen Behnke stood out and made an impression.



(1) Bryan Whitney, Neo Kabbalah, 2010,
Archival pigment print, 44x90 inches



(2) Bryan Whitney, Neo Kabbalah, 2010,
detail

 Professor Bryan Whitney’s piece, Neo Kabbalah, is a 44 x 90 inches archival pigment print (1).  This black and white print depicts a pattern that seems to be symmetrical but when looked at closely the little differences that seem to hide upon first glance, start to become noticeable.  The texture in the work is also an important part.  After looking at the computerized print, I went with the urge to get up close to examine the print (2).  It looks as though little hairs make up the composition even though it is a computerized print and is flat.  Professor Whitney’s Neo Kabbalah plays on the relationship between work and viewer.  Meaning that it gets your attention, you keep on looking, until you can not help yourself but to get closer to get a better look and understanding.  That is why this piece is one of my favorites that were in the show.

(3) Parick Strzelec, Syn, 2010,
Cast aluminum, limestone, stainless steel
4' x 3' x 3'

(4) Partick Strzelec, Syn, 2010,
detail

 Newly appointed sculpture professor, Patrick Strzelec, contributed a sculpture called Syn, which is made up of cast aluminum, limestone, and stainless steel (3).  Syn consists of a smooth and shiny abstract form that rests upon a limestone and stainless steel base. The color of the aluminum is lime green and intense; the piece grabs your attention as soon as you walk into the gallery.  Aside from the color, what drew me to his sculpture was that the form on top seemed to be unbalanced, as if it was about to fall onto the floor (4).   This characteristic does make it seem like a specific moment is being caught in time and you do not know what the outcome will be; is going to fall or will it roll back and stay in place? There is an intense reaction but curiosity follows quickly and you become engaged with the piece.



(5) Erin Dunn, Woops, 2010,
Mixed media

 

(6) Erin Dunn, Woops, 2010,
Mix Media



 Woops by second year graduate student, Erin Dunn is composed of three various sized abstract paintings, one rectangular-shaped painting on top of the off-white, scratched up and dirty base, while another being a square-shaped painting is propped up against the base at the bottom, while the last small and circular-shaped painting is on a different side, also propped up against the bottom of the base.  This arrangement of paintings only gives the installation two views to be looked at.  When I looked upon, what I presume to be the front (5), I wanted to see what the opposite side had to offer.  To my disappointment I found nothing.  When an object is placed on a base, there has to be something different to see at each angle and I did not get that here.  What also caught my eye was the dribble of paint on the floor that was connected to the square-shaped painting.  I presume this single driblet plays into the part of being in that moment of eccentric movement when making a painting and accidentally some getting on the floor.  Even though I was confused about some attributes of the installation, I was very interested in the paintings.  They are abstract, filled with color, and just seem to have been made in a moment where thought did not matter and the painter just wanted to make paintings just for the sake of making marks on the canvas.  If Woops was showcased, without a base, on the wall along with more paint dribbles, I would have felt differently.

(7) Eileen Behnke, ...On the Grass, 2010,
Oil on canvas, 5' x 3'

Eileen Behnke’s five by three feet oil on canvas painting, …On the Grass, is located on the wall in the first room in the gallery.  The composition is made up of figures lying on grass, sleeping, looking at you, or conversing with another figure (7).  Aside from the color being a dominant vocal point, the way the figures are arranged on the canvas is eye catching, since they are arranged in a swirl-like pattern.  You enter the painting at the top, your eyes move down to the girl in the blue tank, then to the faceless figure at the bottom, up to the girl in the dress, and finally to the girl staring at you.  Her gaze is neither distracting nor does it go unnoticed.  You become engaged with her, not just because she is staring at you, but by her posture and the thick brush strokes that compose of her, those around her, and her environment.  This unity makes everything blend together, yet at the same time nothing gets lost.