To Know One's Self Through Art

Artist Statement for my senior show, and a few works:

I have loved creating art all my life. I almost compulsively take my abilities in different directions, having an extremely difficult time settling on just one. I try to create and change ordinary things into something more interesting using any tools I have available. Due to a strong fascination with Surrealism my objects are implemented not as things but as metaphors for a certain concept.
This series is highly cathartic. Through my assemblages I have endeavored to reconcile some aspects of my life. I want to expose a part of what composes my thought process and personal history, but at the same time evoke contemplation on some major themes of the human experience. I use my objects to create a world that doesn‘t have to make sense at first glance, yet is still tethered to actual events and emotions.
Most of the things I talk about through my art have been ghosts in my life, following me around into adulthood. When I allow them to sit on my studio table I can talk to these memories. I can make peace with them. I give them the attention they need and deserve, along with a physical manifestation which someone else may be able to relate to. In turn, they no longer need to follow me. When they have been realized, in many ways I can let them go.
The fuel for any artist is inspiration. Consciously creating meaningful art requires a spark from which artistic thought can be generated. Most individuals who have a desire to make art are continually seeking new sources of creative awakening. The ideal circumstance would propel you into a poetic sort of madness, where everything comes together and creation is automatic.
This igniting force has been elusive for me at times. However in my relationship with art, nothing has been more inspiring than my own experience, or seeing in other’s art something that speaks to my perception. Socrates claimed that the unexamined life is not worth living. I can think of nothing that puts you more face-to-face with your existence than making it the focus of your creative process. I am constantly grappling with this idea of one’s true self. It is a situation I think most people have to face at least once in their life. I continually seek understanding of the world and myself by trying to outwardly make sense of it. This self-inspiration makes the product of my efforts so much more meaningful, to me, than if I worked any other way.

Donald Lipski

      

            Donald Lipski is an American sculptor, born in Chicago in 1947. He received a BA from University of Wisconsin in 1970, and an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, MI, in 1973. From 1973 to 1977 he was Assistant Professor of Art at The University of Oklahoma in Tulsa. While his first interests were in the video and behavioural art of the 1970s, he became known in the early 1980s for large installations of sculptures made from objects found discarded in the street. 

                                    "Eternal Journey"                                "Good as Gold"

"Leaves of Grass"

                                              "Psyche"                                     "Psyche" - close up

Artist Statement:

Through the 1970s and 1980s, I plumbed the possibilities of objects I came across in the rapidly changing world of Lower Manhattan, industrial New Jersey, and Brooklyn, with forays into industrial sites, scrap yards, and other arcana.

When my son was born sixteen years ago, I left New York. I lived and worked in Sag Harbor, a charming town. Lacking art-making materials much beyond trees and sand, I was, in a way, liberated--anything I imagined could become material for my use. The process was more cerebral and conceptual, fostering a body of public works largely conceived on the computer.

Two years ago, I moved to Philadelphia, a city rich with the relics of a decaying industrial base. This change has sparked a new round of hands-on sculpture making--physical, free-wheeling, and unguarded.

"Tent" - this sculpture is wind activated.

                                                    "The Doors"                        "The Doors" - interior

            When Lipski gets in the groove of a certain medium or idea, he will expand on that and play with it many times before he lets it go. This can be illustrated by comparing “Tent” to “The Doors” or his many book sculptures (a few pictured above). Much like those, he continued the circle theme into other works using anything from wine bottles to bikes to guitars. He isn't fickle about his ideas. He doesn't make a piece and then move on to the next concept. Lipski pushes a thought to the limits of his ability. Below you can see one idea in many different forms. Here he is examining the properties of organic materials and the operation of ecological systems.  He searches out thick-walled industrial and scientific glass containers, such as tanks, spheres, and tubing, that are rated to hold highly toxic acids. Instead of using these vessels for dangerous materials, he encloses delicate and ephemeral substances, such as plants, in order to protect them from an increasingly toxic environment. The objects float in acid-resistant glass tubing that has been hermetically sealed with a heavy steel clamp. The preservative solution keeps the items in suspended animation, but since most of them are organic, they are gradually fading and decomposing. This is a kind of still life that is not in stasis, but changes over time. Eventually, all that will be left of the preserved material is debris at the bottom of the tubing, with only a photograph to show what the sculpture originally looked like.

                  "Waterlily with Two Red Glasses"                     "Red Apples" 

                                       "Water Lilies # 52"                      "Water Lilies #2"

"Sirshasana"          

             His chandeliers are probably my favorite out of all of his work. I would love to own one at some point, but I'll probably have better luck just trying to make one myself. The one shown here is displayed at Grand Central Station in New York, but there are others out there in vineyard cellars, museums and the such. It was made with the help of the artificial tree guru, Jonquil LaMaster. The roots system is covered in gold leaf and meets the trunk in a flourish of acanthus leaves. The branches are made of polymer resin imprinted with real olive branches for texture and then adorned with over 5,000 Austrian crystals.

"Tubbs!"

 This last picture is a computer generated image of an upcoming piece.

Kurt Wenner

               Being inspired by my blogging peers, I have decided that I should offer something useful more frequently. If I’m going to put the effort into having a blog I should bring something interesting or, in the very least, entertaining to the table. I figured I should stick to what I know, so I’ll be writing weekly about an artist that melts my butter. Much like in my own artistic endeavors, I won’t focus on any medium in particular because I love variety. I see many beautiful images in this blog’s near future. I can’t say if this new feature will occur on a certain day every week, but at some point, as weekly as possible… Am I selling you guys on this yet?   : P

                One of my first exposures to art was through chalk. As a child I would sit in my drive way for hours drawing images like pastel dragonflies, stars, and giant roses until every inch was covered in color. Then a hard rain would come and clean off my large cement canvas for the next time I wanted to temporarily graffiti my front yard. I assume that Kurt Wenner also came from such humble beginnings, but he took this childish hobby and evolved it into something different entirely.

                Wenner hails from Ann Arbor, Michigan and trained at the Rhode Island School of Design and the Art Center School of Design. He started his professional career working for NASA as a scientific space illustrator. He quickly realized his passions lay in classical art so he left for Rome to study the masters. He submerged himself in classical art so that he could let go contemporary techniques. In some sense, his aims became to revive an appreciation for past art by presenting it in a completely modern way.

                In 1984, Wenner started to create anamorphic murals in the form of illusionist street paintings. At almost any angle the images seem distorted, but from just the right perspective your eyes will be completely fooled by the apparent depth of his creations. This visual phenomenon is manifested through simple pastels and paints…oh what I would give for my tools to give birth to images like these. I’m at the same time fully impressed, yet vigorously disgusted with his freakish amount of ability.

                Other than his grotesquely enviable talent, what I truly adore about his work is the obvious classical influence. Those years in Rome clearly paid off. I’m an absolute sucker for a good Botticelli or Raphael. But in the same way these masters would manipulate light and color to create vivid works that truly seem to jump off the surface at you, Wenner manipulates the space and shapes to make the images appear to fall away deep into the ground. To me, really excellent art is that which makes you stand there and just wonder, “How the fuck did they do that?” Wenner has this by the bucketfuls.

                Another great thing about his work is that it is almost always a half-breed of performance and observed art. For the many hours it takes to complete one of these, passerby can stop and talk to him or simply watch the spectacle of his craft. In more recent years, Wenner has accepted commissions from corporations as a form of advertising. Some people would call this selling out; I call it capitalizing on yo assets. Hell, If I was half as talented I’d be whoring myself to anyone who’d let me draw on their anything. 

            The only really terrible thing about his work is that it is painfully impermanent. Depending on the location, some can last years, but they are all meant to disappear eventually. This kind of artistic mortality is unfortunate, but the ephemeral quality of his work seems to make it even more captivating. Wenner does not commit himself solely to street painting. He also designs homes and villas, making him even more dear to my heart. His design sense for buildings is just as impressive as his chalk art, but that's a post for another time. 

Is it just me or does that snail totally have Falcor's face from Never Ending Story?

Wanderlust Chronicles - Episode Two

Fair Warning: This one is kind of a doozy.

Detail of Stones and Rocks and Stones and Bones - Andrew Scott Ross

Concrete Jungle - Senior Trip to New York City

            It was early one foggy October morning and all the art majors were scurrying across the airport terminal trying not to miss our fight. We had been worked four years to squeeze out every ounce of creativity in us, and to put it lightly, we were desperately lacking inspiration. We were headed to New York for the weekend to run around and look at the galleries pertaining to our interests, which we would later create lectures about and present to the school as our "Senior Caption Experience". I was excited to give New York another chance. My first experience of it verged on traumatic. I was 11, it was the Puerto Rican Day Parade and there were triple digit temperatures. The streets and sidewalks were filled to capacity, the smells were almost lethal, and lets just leave it at multiple rapings and vandalisms in Central Park (where we were walking through to some museum we never reached) put an end to the festivities for that day. New York was one place I had no interest whatsoever in revisiting. Well, moving on, during our travels the infamous balloon boy story began to develop. Okay, so I may not have any kids of my own, but I do have 9 neices and nephews and generally like most children. (That is until they turn into those little brats on those "Sweet Sixteen" shows. I'll choke a bitch. I'm sweet, but I have very low BS tolerance.) Maybe its just a maternal instinct in me, but when I heard about what was supposedly happening with this kid I was terrified. When we boarded the plane all the girls with net access were frantically checking the developments while waiting in the plane. Then when we landed we learned it was all a hoax. Thank God, but still, what the hell is that about? We all know how it turned out but I had to include it as it was one of the more memorable moments of the trip.

                      Drama Balloon                                                        Glowing-stairs-installation-thing

   See His Work!!!                                              Architecture is <3

               When we got to NY we waited for the second group of students to get there because we had been separated between two planes. It was about 10 pm when we got to our hotel, and it was drizzling, but we decided to check out Times Square at least for a little bit before crashing. Truong Le, (who now goes by Danny because its easier for others to say, but I still say I love his original name and he should embrace his uniqueness) is my Vietnamese home-boy who is, girl scout's honor, one of the coolest cats I know and one of the most talented - check out his site! (There is a link under his picture, which I took because I wanted evidence in case it was the last time I saw him lol.) He had his enormous camera in-tow, and just took off by himself into the night, because as he made it clear to me many times during this trip, he is in fact, a ninja. Personally, I'm a big fan of the buddy system, especially when its a bunch of young 20-somethings from relatively quiet towns running aimlessly around the Big Apple. (So I was quite relieved to see him the next morning, alive and un-mugged.) Booth and I took off together and walked up this cool red glowing stairs thing in the middle of the Square and saw some gorgeous buildings all lit up against the night. Eventually we called it quits when the cold and rain became unbearable and went back to the Skyline Hotel to get some rest before our first day of exploring. 

                                                         Museum of Natural History                          1500 Year Old Tree Stump   

   

                 

                                          SRS BZNS!!!                                                                                 I really love rocks.

        Booth (he is pretty much my best friend in the Art-Dept) and I started off our day with breakfast at a small bakery. It was very cold outside so I got lobster bisque, which is my favorite soup and very unfortunately hard to come by back home. After that we went to the Museum of Natural History so I could look at the Native American gallery and then the gemstone room. I was in love with all the wampum. Bead work like that is truly inspiring to me. The belts were so intricate and colorful for the time in which it was made. I also saw an awesome 1500 year old tree...it was crazy huge.  

 

Sweet Subway Mosaic Action                                              Crazy Random Jade Carving 

             Then we got lost for a long time on the subway, and I started taking pictures of things so I could identify where we'd been. Luckily Booth has a functioning sense of direction and navigated the tunnels like a pro, after our original lostness. We got some lunch at an Italian place (which we mostly chose for its desperately needed restroom facilities). After that we headed to the Museum of Modern Art and Design, and it was by far my favorite museum. There was an exhibit there called "Slash: Paper Under the Knife" which featured works by many different artists in many different styles, but all utilizing paper in creative and unexpected ways. (aka: This is what you came here for.)

      

                                                                Mia Pearlman                                             Andrea Dezso

Night Gathering - Ed Pien

Drawing with ink and papercut / Size 500 cm x 230 cm

           I was really interested in Adrea Dezso's "tunnel books" which used layers of paper with different designs on them to create a whole picture, which told a story about part of her life, if you look at it directly from the front. Since my senior show series was all about past experiences in my life, I was really drawn to her style. She also implemented Dali-esque surrealist techniques so of course I was in love. Mia Pearlman was another favorite. Her works can best be described as epic paper art. They are often large, sweeping, mysterious paper sculptures that dominate whatever room their are in. A similar artist is Andrea Mastrovito whose work graced almost the entire ceiling of the lobby area. It was a ship sinking into a turbulent sea of shredded paper. I was in awe. I was also very impressed by Ed Pien's work. Just looking at all the lines and swirls and intricacies hurt my head to try and comprehend. I can't even imagine how hard it must have been to cut all of that out. Then there were the altered books, which I often like to use in my own art. Some people might think that, being a devout bookworm, this would be against my religion. However, I find its not so much of sacrilege if done in the name of art. (Though personally, I do still try and use books which have fallen into disrepair or those which weren't good in an attempt to keep my conscience clean.)  The next day we went to dozens of other museums and saw prolific artists like Cornell, Dali, Warhol, and Van Gogh but I'll leave it at that because they really aren't hurting for the publicity. 

Non ci Resta Che Paingere (There's Nothing Left To Do But Cry) - Andrea Mastrovito

 Ariana Boussard-Reifel                                                                      Su Black well

           That night Booth and I went out for his first real bar experience. We've been going to college in a dry county this whole time... God help us. We went to an Irish pub where we were served by a Russian waitress who only kind of understood English, and I'm using the term kind-of very generously. I asked for a Tequila Sunrise and he ordered a beer. He ended up getting a beer, and I got a straight glass of tequila. I was too nervous to get into an argument about her comprehension of my order so I just sat there and downed that thing, all the while trying to keep my "I'm a little bitch" faces under control, but it was hard... at least Booth got quite a few laughs. Then we walked back to Times Square and found the sound exhibit. It sounded like a diggery-doo and Booth held my hand while we listened to it. It was really cool and kind of magical. I'm glad we had that moment. Then Elaine, who you will remember from the DC post, was only a few hours away a decided she would come into NY for the weekend while I was there and get a room. So she saved me from having to room with my teacher more than one night, got a room in the same hotel and I went and stayed with her. If you can't tell by now, that girl kicks ass. Then we got ready and went out for a night on the town. 

  

                 This place is fuuuuun.                                             Why did I just waste 2 hours of my life?

  

             I love these branch things                                                Enchanting and yet, disgusting. 

           So that night Elaine, Booth and I went to the Fat Black Pussy Cat, a pub/lounge with a club underneath it. I really liked the decor. It kind of reminded me of my living room. Lots of warm ambient lighting, plush fabrics, and Moroccan colored glass lamps everywhere. We found a little nook next to a ornately decorated Egyptian sarcophagus and got to drankin'. Then Booth started doing his white-boy rapping which was very entertaining, he's actually surprisingly good. Every now and then we'd go outside to get some air and talk politics with homeless people. We were going to only stay there until midnight, but the next time we looked at our phones it was 3:25. Oops. Before we headed back we decided it would be a good idea to get some food. We went to Mamoun's Falafel and wow, I don't know if it was because I was so drunk but damn, thats the best falafel I've had in my life. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, came a guy in a Spider-man suit who was pulling some people on a rickshaw. Okay, so that was strange by itself but then he started doing flips and spinning the couple around and setting them down on their backs and then flipping then back up. It was the coolest thing ever. We were all unusually calm about like, "Oh yea, thats totally normal".... but the next day we couldn't believe it and thought we might have had a co-hallucination moment. (Up until I started writing this post I honestly wasn't sure if this guy really existed, but now I have proof! I'm including his video at the bottom of this post.) The next day we saw more museums and that night Elaine and I went to see a play called Oleanna at this really tiny theatre off Broadway. The entire play happened in one room, so no set changes, and there were only two actors: Julia Stiles and Bill Pullman. Pullman was excellent (and for an older man, he's still lookin pretty good) but Stiles just reminded me why I hate watching her movies...and she's even worse on stage. The whole thing was rather infuriating but I guess that means they did a good job. After that we went to Haru for sushi and to pay the most I've ever spent on a meal in my life, but I really loved the light up decor. Then we walked back to the hotel and and met up with Booth after visiting the liquor store. (do we see a trend on this trip?) We watched SNL and wondered how we might be able to kidnap James Franco (who was guest starring) before we had to leave NY. We stayed up until 2:00 am doing this when Booth and I had to catch a shuttle to the airport at 5:45 am. Not the smartest of choices. We were so.hung.over. My head was swimming and it was raining cats and dogs when we met up again in the lobby. In the van the driver had it on an R&B station and I was using the beats to keep a rhythm and avoid getting sick as best I could. Then that song by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys came on, Empire State of Mind, and the first time any of us ever heard that song was while we were in New York, and I have to say, there was something kind of special about that. 

Coming up next in the Wanderlust Chronicles: NEW ZEALAND.


*pictures of works in the MAD gallery are not my own. cameras were not permitted in the gallery so i had to find pictures of the works as my visual aids.

X-ray pinups stripped to the bone

One of the year's most provocative pinup calendars features pictures that would be X-rated ... except that they're shot using X-rays. The German advertising agency Butter put together an X-ray-rated 2010 calendar to promote Eizo's high-precision displays for medical imaging. Butter's blurb notes that pinups are more often found in auto garages than medical offices. "Eizo breaks this taboo," Butter boasts. "This pinup calendar shows absolutely every detail."

The promotion made a splash on the Coloribus ad archive this month, and since then, the pinup pics have spread across the Internet like a Playboy centerfold. Bad Astronomy's Phil Plait discusses in depth how racy radiographs can get , and one of the folks at Metafilter went so far as to write Eizo an e-mail about the calendar's availability. The reply? Sorry, you can't get it here. "However, we appreciate the impact it has had on Eizo's U.S. brand recognition," the company wrote back.

Let's just hope this doesn't start a trend: We're already pushing the envelope when it comes to X-ray exposure as well as skeletal fashion models.

Article from the Cosmic Log at MSNBC

Can't Stop What's Coming

"...the main thing about Bells is that there is no resolve, and that's what that whole song was saying. Can't stop what's coming, can't stop what is on its way. All I can do is respond truthfully, and the concept that we'll always be friends, or we can always work it out, I would have bet you that I could have worked anything out with this person. I would have bet my hand I could have worked anything out. I'd be missing a hand right now. It'd be the one-armed Tori tour. I couldn't have foreseen this. And I think, how many people, in marriages or families, and they're going, 'Wait a minute. I'm a rational being. This is a rational being, so we think.' Of course, I'm a little -- I'm partial, but I would have thought, yes, we could work it out. And when it got to in the end 'blankettes,' and the spelling changed, and when I was writing it down, I did it 'blankettes' as in -- well, what it means to me is just blank women, chicks. Yet they were making mudpies and creating and it's void now. And if you talk to people that know her, they think she's a together, great babe. And if you talk to people that know me, I'm a together, great babe. And yet we just couldn't do it. So there is a triangle on this record of the betrayal of women. It's not just that relationship. It's many other things in the other tunes. But Bells is the spirit speaking, not the ego speaking, but the part of me that still loves a friend that for whatever reason you can't make a resolve. You just can't do it. The big lesson in this whole year has been that there isn't a resolve for many things. Life isn't about, well, if I just get to this mountain peak, it's over. There are like 5,000 peaks in the distance."
-- Tori; The Baltimore Sun, '94