Critique Number Two

This time my presentation was more fun than the first. People were more responsive and as a result I have more ideas stemming from their comments stemming from my work. I tried to make the work look as finished as possible. The photographs were all matted and I had various presentations of the same photos in different sizes and arrangements. I think the work is successful because the groups understanding of my work was pretty on cue. I could not be more satisfied with my final critique.

Critique Number One

There's only one thing that rivals the morbid uncomfortable sensation of talking about your artwork to a group of people, and that is having a group of people talk about your artwork in front of you. This experience was not as horrendous as I imagined it to be and surprisingly the critique group was relatively non vocal. I like to think that this is because nobody wanted to single themselves out in front of an audience rather than the idea that my work was not very sensational in any aspect. There was one person who presented her work who had a similar subject to mine but we used different mediums and had different interests and expectations of the subject. Her work was a painting of the interior of car looking out. My work is taken within the car but does not show any of the parts of the car.T he day I took my project with my digital camera it was a rainy day and the environment outside was pretty dreary and mundane. But when I sat inside my car in the parking lot of Costco, the rain made rivulets of color out of the view through windshield. Taking the opportunity for an impromptu photo shoot I have never been happier with my digital camera.

The Fair

-This chapter first starts with the memorable one liner, "When is this bubble going to burst?" Apparently a strong market still has something for the pessimist to complain about.

-Next in line comes the humorous impersonation of an eccentric foreign accent of Segalot, "Allo. Hmmm. Yes, I have heard the rumeuor....

-Then the dynamism of Jeff Poe and Tim Blum, who though notorious enough to know are not famous enough to distinguish their names form each other. Their hand in hand existence is something of a Siskel and Ebert.

-Blum is a everything a cultured socialist should be, a sophisticated polyglot fluent in Japanese. Thus he is able to conserved with the most elite of artists, Takashi Murikami.

-Lastly, comes the infamous quote: In the art world, gossip is never idle. It is a vital form of market intelligence."

5 Choice Schools

MICA- Masters student may be hired as GTI's (Graduate Teaching Interns) under the supervision of a faculty member and will gain valuable teaching experience. They are also allowed to intern in a course they are not a student in. First year students are required to intern in a Foundation course for fall and spring sessions their first year. Many second year students are funded separately though the Graduate School to assist in the daily functions of the Program.

SCAD- There is a number of finance options for students. There is an Army ROTC grant, a $1,000 Art in Teaching Scholarship, an Athletics grants-in-aid, and an Educator scholarship, to name a few. This broad range of tuition aid gives a fair advantage to the diverse body of students.

RISD- This school has a variety of employment available for both undergraduate and graduate students. Among them are: Grant Writer, Caterer, Associate Professor, and Sales Clerk.

The New School for Design- The Masters Program for Fashion Studies at this school makes available careers in research, academics, and culture. This program is available to a wide range of undergraduate degrees such as art and design, liberal arts, social sciences, and economics.

SVA- One of the top film schools in the U.S. in the hub of one the most vital film environments, this school gives a thorough education in all the different aspects and disciplines of the media. The latest technology is available to students, but the greatest resource is the faculty, oscar winners among them. SVA sponsor the Dusty Film Festival and Awards.

Spanish Harlem's Cultural Composition

After the first room in the EL Museo Barrio, the gallery opens up into a spacious room annexed by another hallway. The contemporary and brightly colored works found in this area a montage, symbolical and emotional, and do not have a major theme or relationship between them. Alas, modern art is hard to organize. To one side, among the mismatched large and small frames, are decorative Mexican sculptures. Within these objects, there is a very bright, vibrant and expressive, striped giraffe, a sparkling rooster, and a glittering skull, which is a "Mexican ofrenda", a traditional component of the Mexican day of the dead celebration. Center stage is a large masterpiece by Pepon Soon, his 1987 "La Cama". This is an elaborate installation features a bed isolated from everything else in the room. On the brightly painted bed and its gem studded frame are plastic horses, dolls, doves,l and ribbons. Under this "more is more" philosophy that dedicates this work to his childhood caretaker, Soon acknowledges the spiritual riches given to him through this "loving farewell". This work honors her passage to death through the ceremonious day of the dead representation. I am enamored with the cultural attitude the Mexicans have with death and their loved ones that have passed. It is a bright, spiritual connection rather than a macabre or morbid obsession.

Chelsea Tower in Chelsea District

Steven Charles's work is both colorful and decoratively detailed. In what looks like a fiesta color palette, abstract squares are anointed with pinpoint circles, and appear as city blocks from an nighttime aerial viewpoint. Though free standing, some of the skyscraper-like sculptures were inaccessible to a walk around them, this made them less successful as a three dimensional work. A more mature piece, "Kim 2009", is a larger painting and has a more sophisticated color scale. The work has more neutrals and is more three dimensional than later works. The bright pinpoints sharply contrast the dark background. Some of the smaller paintings look like exotic tiles; they also look African inspired. Other pieces are chameleon in their ability to have texture, form, or relief while appearing monotone color. Even when it looks like there is no detail there is greatly at closer inspection.

Barthelemy Toguo at Robert Miller

At the Robert Miller Gallery, the work of Barthelemy Toguo shows his multi-media proficiency. One of my favorites, "The philosopher" shows a common theme in his watercolors, a figure spewing forth material. One can read this as a purging and cleansing act or it could be assumed that this is the creative process brewing out of the artist's head. The technique of the watercolor and the wet onto wet painting process and skill is impressive.

Thoughts on Jay Fielding at Andrea Meislin

The first glance at the first picture on the wall in the gallery is unlike all the others in most respects. It appears surreal, the eye of a child occupying the bottom of the photograph. The child's gaze wanders off to something above him. The catch, as one finds out after reading the gallery placard, is that the child is blind. The soft lighting and the blurred backgound beg for the viewer to look inward and conceptualize that empty gaze. The child appears healathy and aware. We must remember that without sight the other senses are heightened and stronger. It is interesting that the nature of art, the aspect of art, relies so heavily on what the subject, this boy is neglected. This picture is unlike the others in that the others create and approach that confronts the viewer with the horrific and strange appearances and expressions of the other children. It is obvious that these children are unusual. In #692, the child appears with a disturbing face and eyes. The girl looks shocked or tensed with fear. The foreground is blurred as if asking the question, "Is she aware of what's there?" One of the more endearing shoes captures two little girls whispering and giggling ( as little girls do). The only thing that betrays their condition is their blank white gaze.

Mitchell-Innes Nash Showing Enoc Perez

Perez's collection of paintings have the element of technical expertise with their simplicity of colors and suggestive yet clear, outlined content usually centered in the canvas. The texture of the canvases bleeds through with colorful thin lines that look like they have been woven down into the work. The many stripes of color are more pronounced in the shadow in the paintings. The paintings are alike in that though they hover between a two-dimensionality and the three-dimensionality, they still retain depth. The Teatro Poplar looks like a circular parking garage. This is not stark realism though the content of the works look real. They are more suggestive, with a unique palette to each painting. As with Juegan Teller, Perez has made art of another's efforts. He has used someone else's conception, in this case architecture, and made it his through composition,perspective, and color. Some of the paintings have an unfinished look to them, others look like corporate commissioned pieces. The smallest painting was perhaps the most interesting. It depicts a modular home that one wants to continually comment on its shape. Modular, geometric, cubic, simple, minimal all come to mind.

On Chapter 6 Stimulis for Seven Days in the Art World

-An appealing and interesting note in this chapter is the clean and sterile environment in which Murakami's art is made. The lab-like appearance and restricted process of each piece is atypical to the infamous paint-spattered jeans and commonly worn flannel shirt in most studios.

-On old school versus new school,Murakami may know relatively little on modern computer art programs, however, his know how and insight still give him the upper hand in criticizing and overseeing changes in the work of his employees.

-Murakumi has a sophisticated, talented, and well run-system of workers under him that rival the efficiency of Renaissance workshops in days of old.

-The comparison between Murakami's work with Louis Vuitton main steam design or paintings for the high fashion line reminds me of the relationship between Salvador Dali's perfume bottle design and his independent high end art that lies apart yet in league from the commercial art.

-I liked this thought: "Murakami had taken over the Biennale, almost like a virus. He couldn't have planned it, but you see his work flowing through the global art and fashion marketplacee. It was as if he'd injected dye into the system."

Lehman Maupin Gallery : Juegen Teller

The sizes of Teller's photographs were interesting in this show; the washed out colors and grainy focus were not. The flash Teller used abuses the color, which makes them faded, and distracts from the body of work. This effect appears unintentional until the last frame in the gallery, Napoleon crowning Josephine before the Pope. There is an enigma behind this piece; why did the artist obviously appropriate another master's work? The evidence of the more recent artist, Teller, is the reflection of the flash in the painting. The models occupying the rest of the pictures appear boring and unprofessional; they look dull and disinterested. They lack the strategic pose and prowess of ancient Greek studies of anatomy through sculpture that surround them in the museum. The relation of the two-dimensional photography does not quite meet the satisfaction of the high art of Grecian three-dimensional sculptures.

Seven Days in the Art World: Topics in Chapter 2

- I appreciate how Asher's presence is felt by his silence.

- It is interesting to think that even Graduate students have shaky nerves when presenting their work.

- I like the informal atmospheric aspects of the critique, dogs present and people knitting.

- The question "What is Art?" is a truly terrifying and sadistic question.

- The character of Baldesseri is very interesting and offers welcoming insight.

Justin Hall: On Mediun and Absence of Color

(These next few lines have been selected from a longer interview with the artist.)

Regina: How do you think the media paint affects a work as opposed to drawing?

Justin: At first I didn't see the difference. Now I do. I'm still experimenting. It's a good way to draw in the viewer so that they can come to different conclusions.

Regina: How do you think color compares to black and white?

Justin: Color is not everything, but it is a lot. If the work is in black and white there would be so many things that you wouldn't get. There are so many details. In a a lot of words, color defines the emotion and if you are going to work in black and white that's definitely harder to do that. You have to think a little more graphically to get things through.

Alex Bag

In what was for me a lengthy video commentary, I adored the scene of Bjork's television explanation. Alex was seemingly paying attention to everything and absorbing nothing.It is like she is watching t.v. and her senses are thoroughly overwhelmed.I think most students, art and otherwise, can relate to having at least one similar experience, though not to the humorous lecture given by Bjork.

Dorothy Iannone

Despite reviews which describe her work as Egyptian ( such as the archaic almond shaped eyes) in appearance, the New Museum's exhibition of Dorothy Iannone's Lioness had a South-American feel to some of the larger canvases. They were bright and vivid, with colorful, decorative painted details. Highly sexual, the women were large breasted and open mouthed. The gallery was a mix of varius media and suggestive sexual material.

Bucket of Blood

Even though the main character finds himself lofted above his previous station aas a busboy, he remains yet a simpleton relatively ignored even in the midst of praise. He is continuosly ignored and blotted out by his newfound "genius" for sculpture. If anyone had listened to what he said it would be obvious that there was something inside the sculptures.