Activist Art and It's Meaning

  Activist art is a form of performance art that provides a political or social statement. It differs from basic performance art in that it seeks to promote a specific opinion and enlighten, or even change ,the mind of the viewer about political, religious, or social concepts.

     One artist activist is Emma Sulkowicz. She was raped in her college dorm bed. She is a visual art major. Sulkowicz feels she carries the weight of the rape with her everywhere. To represent this, she carries a mattress around campus with her. She plans to continue carrying the mattress around until the rapist is no longer attending college at the same campus as she is. Sulkowicz says that this performance art piece is a form of protest against rape. She sees the coverage by the press and the attention from fellow college students as her audience for the performance. This brings awareness about rape and the burden the victim has to carry long after. She says that often people will stop and offer to carry the mattress for her but the rule is that no one can help her carry the mattress. She must do it alone. The artist feels that in doing this she will become more comfortable carrying the mattress as time goes by,   

     Art activists like Sulkowiczfeel their art form is more effective than simply creating a traditional gallery work. This is because it reaches a larger audience and is more personal.

     Ragina Galindo also uses activist art to relay her message to society. She used a $5000 grant from the government to hire an ex-military man to teach her how to use military weapons. She wanted to show how the traffic of weapons as a performance of power. 

     Kimsooja became aware of the posture of an old beggar woman. She wanted to express the humble position of begging and see what the response of the public would be. She also wanted to see what it felt like for her to take this position. The artist performed “A Beggar Woman” by sitting in the beggar position perfectly still for hours in an outdoor public space. She wanted to bring awareness of the beggars of Beijing.    The artist also did a performance piece on homelessness. 

     Activist art may seem crazy to some but is often the only way to reach those who do not want to take the time to step into a formal gallery to view art. Basically the art comes to the viewer and is in their environment. The art form also acts as a softer medium with which to portray harsh realities. A viewer might not want to read about rape, poverty or homelessness but would watch an art activist perform.

An ART JOURNEY TO REMEMBER

   One of the most memorable moments in my art journey was winning third place in the Red Bull Art of Can Contest in 2009. The ironic aspect of the story is that when I saw the ad about the contest, I was not even planning to enter. Instead I hoped to encourage one of my sculpture students to build something and enter it. When he refused, I took a second look at the advertisement to see what the prizes were. I thought maybe if he knew what the prizes were he would be motivated to enter the contest. When I read that first place was a trip to an art event inSwitzerland I became interested myself.

     I started thinking about Red Bull being energy in a can. My next thought was to build a kinetic sculpture in a can to represent the energy. I brought sketches to friends of mine that were engineers, electricians and physics majors. They asked how soon I had to have it finished. The Red Bull ad was old and the contest was now only three weeks away. They laughed and walked away saying it was impossible.

     I kept sketching and started building what I could on my own. I constructed a there foot can with a round wooden base and wooden struts to support the top. I drew the graphics on the can in Rhino, including the bar code, and ounces. Then I gave a thumb drive with the graphics to a company that printed them on a silver vinyl sheet. This sheet wrapped around the base to form the can. I cut a jagged edge of the vinyl to make the can appear as if it had exploded and torn threw the aluminum to the viewer could see the “energy” inside the can. This was where I begged for assistance from an electrician, physics guru and engineer. They helped me plan out a track that ran from the top of the can to the bottom and used gravity to moved a ball bearing thru a series of bells, wheels and funnels. The track had a copper lining in it so when the ball bearing hit the copper, all the lights lit up. I finished the project at 2am the morning it was due in Houston. I called it “Kinetics in a Can” .I delivered the project to a warehouse where all the entries were. It was fun to see what others had created. There were entries from all over the world!

     Several weeks later I received a call from the Red Bull director. I had won third place!

     Red Bull flew me to Houston where they had reserved a suite for me at the hotel Galleria. There were chocolate covered strawberries and champagne n my room on arrival and the hotel manager stopped by to personally ask me if I needed anything. I unpacked my evening dress for the party that night. I felt like the queen.

     The winning entries were on display where the Galleria had defrosted the ice rink. When the mall closed that night, Red Bull brought in a band and food and drinks and threw a wonderful party. I strolled around and met the other winning artists and discussed their work. Finally the top three winners were announced. The press took our photos and I was in the newspaper and several magazines The band played and I danced the rest of the night with friends. It was a truly magical evening.

    Third Place allowed me to design my own art travel package within Texas, so I requested to go to an artseminar in San Antonio. Red Bull flew me there with my childrenand paid for our hotel and food all week, as well as a week of workshops which was several hundred dollars. They also provided me with a cash prize.

     Every time I walk thru my studio and see the trophy from that year, I think about how difficult it was to meet the deadline for the contest and how I almost quit. I wondered how many other artists made something but didn't enter it due to time constraints. I also wondered how many artists didn't even try. The trophy reminds me that I should never discount possibilities without at least trying. 

The Importance of Artist Sketches

     Sketching out ideas before an artist creates them offers many benefits. The idea is initially drawn in it’s raw state. In other words, it is a kind of a regurgitation of the thoughts without any tweaking. Further sketching provides refinement of the idea by considering stages of process, possible materials, and the best way to visually transfer of the concept. 

     Once a concept is down on paper, the artist is able to consider if the art work intended is the best conductor of the idea. During the initial sketching process, the artist may build on the original idea and discover better ways to express the message in their work. This can mean that they totally change the art work, or that they simply make small changes to the original idea. This is an important process for every artist to employ. Often, at this stage, it is beneficial for the artist to share the concept with others and see if the intent is actually received by the audience. If not, insight can be gained by listening to other’s feedback. 

     Once the concept is clear, the artist can go on to the next phase of planning. During this phase the artist will break down the process needed to build the art work. It is critical for the artist to achieve this so that no time is wasted in production by realizing that another method would have been better or faster. Once again, depending on the project, the artist may need to interview experts on the particular process they intend to use. This can make the building process free of errors and increase the speed of learning new processes. 

     At this point, the artist is ready to consider what materials to use for the art work. The materials need to match the message of the work and the process. For instance, if the work was about aging , the artist would want materials that give the feel of something weathered, not something new and shiny. The artist also would need to consider their budget for materials. Often products needed can be too expensive. Artists can route around this by recycling old material, asking for product donations, or searching for grant money. 

     So the sketching process is an important journey that leads the artist to answer specific questions about their intended work. It is the bridge between the concept and the final work.

A Change of Hear: Getting to Know Paul Klee and His Work

   The first time I saw work by Paul Klee, I truly felt pity for him. I knew he was surrounded by talented artists at the Bauhaus, I speculated how overwhelmed he must have felt. While the others artists in residence were creating intricate wallpaper, modern furniture and writing books, Paul was making pictures with colored triangles and circles. It was not until much later that I grew to love him and his work.

     Klee’s early work showed great control and talent. He was a master at bookbinding, etching, and stained glass. His etchings were detailed and very accurate. These were done roughly between 1895 and 1903. Soon after that his drawings became more playful. His line work left the rigid photo real style and moved into more of a caricature. “Drawing is Taking Line For a Walk” Klee said.

     World War II started in 1914. Paul Klee fought in it I. He was distressed that his dear friends were killed in the war. He was conflictedwith the war itself. The Gestapo searched his home and discovered he was half Jewish.  He was fired from his job in Germany. In reaction to this he painted a self portrait in 1933, called “Struck From The List”. The colors are ugly oranges and browns. The figures expression is sad. There is a large black “X” on the head. The viewer can feel the despair. 

     Klee was a teacher at the Bauhaus art school during World War II. He was friends with Kandinsky and Picasso. He joined group called the “Blue Four” who were abstractionist and cubist and expressionists. He learned about color theory from them, which Klee said he never quite understood. He painted his first abstract in 1914. By 1917 his work was selling well.

     It was when I learned all these things about Klee that I understood his work. He was exploring color theory and abstraction, not because all he could do was draw a triangle. He was minimizing his studies down to this because he loved color and was celebrating everything to do with it and the theories surrounding it. 

     It is funny to remember think how an artist I had not respect for once, has now become one of my favorites. 

The Trouble With Making Art Long Distance

     In 2007 I had the opportunity to travel with a group of volunteers to a tiny village in Ghana, West Africa . It was my intention to paint a mural an a wall in the children’s ward of the hospital. Months before I left on the trip, I began researching the project. The hospital and I communicated via email and soon they put me in touch with the hospital administrator. I decided I wanted to do a jungle seen for the children with the local animals. I studied which animals were in proximity to the village and included them in my sketch. The first drawing had one of my most favorite animals, a Chameleon. These colorful lizards are as common in Ghana as green lizards are here. I drew the Chameleon peeking out from the jungle foliage. I sent a copy of the sketch to the hospital administrator. Soon I received his reply. “Oh no!. You cannot put a Chameleon in the mural. The local villagers are afraid of them as they believe they cause cancer.”  So out came the Chameleon.

     Next,  I decided to add monkeys. After all, everyone loves monkeys right? Soon the administrator replied.” Oh no, not monkeys! The monkeys are vicious here. They raid the village, tearing up houses and stealing food. They are horrifying.” Ok, so, no monkeys. Trying to negotiate thru the jungle concept was becoming complicated 

     So I decided to reroute to something completely different. I had access to a photo of the village from someone who had lived there before. I decided to draw the village and put a beautiful border around it. I researched the local art work and found that the women often made batiks on cloth. I quickly chose a batch pattern and drew it as a border on the mural. Shortly after forward the new sketch I received a response from the administrator. “Oh goodness! The border is awful” he said. “ It is a design from the people of southern Ghana, who back in history captured and sold the people from the North into slavery. Basically you put a southern border on a mural in a northern hospital. This is socially unacceptable.” 

     At this point I realized the importance of an artist truly understanding the environment in which his art will be displayed. It was obvious that I did not understand many aspects of the culture I was trying to serve and that I probably would not understand without going there, So I emailed the administrator that I would arrive with sketches and be happy to redo any of them to meet the local standards. In the end, it all worked out. 

      I did arrive with sketches and they were approved by the administrator . The local chief helped me translate the words in the border from English to the local language. I herd local boys to help paint. I talked with the women who had children in the ward.

     It ended on a happy note. The chief thanked me and gave me a goat. Which in their world is a rare commodity and showed great respect for what I came to do. I learned so much there about art and culture and how an artist must be careful to think about his these mesh. 

The Effects of a bad critique

     Creating a piece of art is a multi-step process. First the artist finds a point of inspiration for their piece. They then begin sketching to refine the idea. When the artist has selected the idea they want to go forward with, they must decide on the production plan and materials. This can take a bit of time as it will require research on where to obtain the necessary materials, as well trial runs, where the materials are tested. Any point in this process can lead to failure and because of that, most artist’s are not keen on allowing others access to their ideas mid-stream in the design process. Doing so can put the artist at risk for humiliation, which in turn, can lead to the visual artist experiencing aform of “writer’s block”.

        I too have experienced this artistic state of being “frozen” or stuck in the middle of a project due to someone’s comments or interactions about the work. On one occasion, while I was a freshman in an art college, we were asked to go home and cut a eight by ten inch mat and bring it next class for grading.  I had never cut a mat before. Even worse, I had never even used a mat cutter. I bought the supplies needed and spent the night completing the project. I carefully measured the same distance from outside edges of the mat. Then I dragged the mat knife along the measured lines on the back side of the mat. I was perplexed that the cut did not work the first time and concluded that I must need to press down harder. So I ran the knife over the first cut a second time while bearing down heavily on the knife. The knife did cut thru in some places and not in others. I flipped the mat over to the front side and saw that the blade had actually torn some of the edges. I took the knife and cut the remaining attached places from the front side. They looked better than the ones cut from the back side. Nonetheless, I had cut my first art mat and was very proud. The next day the professor asked us to place our mats on the dry erase board rail. We all lined up our projects. The professor walked down the rail and viewed the mats as if he was a general inspecting his army. Then he whirled around and said “Who made this piece of shit?” At first I didn't take notice because I was sure he wasn't talking about my project. There was no way mine was “shit”. Unfortunately, he was. He kept asking for someone to raise their hand and claim the “shitty” mat. My hand felt like lead but I somehow managed get it in the air. Everyone’s eyes were on me. The professor began yelling a string of expletives at me with a angry expression on his face. He basically told me I was lazy and I should just get out of art all together. I was embarrassed and felt ashamed of my little mat that I was so proud of the night before. 

     Weeks went by and I found my creativity was immobilized by this man’s ability to shame me in front of my peers. I tried everything but could not seem to find inspiration. I was depressed. I went to my design professor and confessed my dilemma. He encouraged me to see the broader picture of my college experience. These were the facts he shared with me. First, I was a talented artist who needed to practice cutting art mats. Secondly, the screaming professor was only going to be in my life for one semester. Finally, part of being a successful artist is defending your work. I needed to be able to take the heat and keep my voice strong. 

     In the end, this was life lesson. I graduated from the semester knowing how to cut a beautiful mat, I learned how to defend my work, but even more importantly, how to be prepared so defending my work became an easier job. Oh, and I wrote a letter to the art department head about my experience.  I suggested that in the future, the professor consider actually teaching the class how to cut a mat before the boot camp review. 

Knowing When A Work Is Complete

     I like to imagine creating an art piece as taking a long journey. It first starts as just a concept, then steps into information gathering, production issues and finally evaluation. It is during this evaluation stage that I must decide if the work is finished. This decision usually hinges on a couple of things. First, is did my message come thru? 

     What purpose would my art have without a message? It is the heart of the piece. That is a well accepted thought. The struggle comes when I must decide how much to say and how much to leave to the audiences imagination. There is a delicate balance there that requires me to retrace my originalintent and then ask myself if I was successful. Often, with the best of effort and intention, I fail at this. Either the message is so loud that it is offensive to the viewer, or it is so ambiguous that the viewer would not have a clue as to what I was communicating. I then have to examine what is redundant and remove it, or what it missing and make it clear. Once I am satisfied that the message in the work is concise and yet readable, I feel my work in that area is complete.

     Another area where my work must be examined before it is declared finished is in it’s craftsmanship. I may have stated the intent beautifully and the structure of the work is accurate but the craftsmanship is lacking. Perhaps the painting technique put emphasis in the wrong area of the canvas, or the sculpture needs to be sanded to remove unsightlyridges or diverts. It would be a shame if my concept was not received simply because of lack of craftsmanship. This final review of the work must be done objectively, as if I was seeing the piece for the first time. If I feel I can not view it objectively then I ask someone else to look at the piece and give me their impressions.

     When both the message and craftsmanship satisfy me, I can pronounce a piece finished. Of course it also helps to sell or give the piece away afterwards. Otherwise, I may see it ten years later and find a new perspective on it’s completeness. 

What Inhibits Art Work

     I have found there are five major areas in which I experience road blocks in creating  my artwork. Most of these obstacles are easily overcome by following some simple solutions. 

     First, and most importantly, lack of time to focus on my work prevents most of my ideas from translating from my head to a physically real state. It seems there are always other roles begging for my time after work. If I sit down to work on my art work, I feel guilty for all of the other jobs I am abandoning. Does the laundry need to be done? Should I take the car for an oil change? Have I paid all the bills? The best solution for this is to lay out a calendar where all the tasks running thru my head have a date attached. Then when I feel guilty I simply tell myself that the laundry is down for Thursday and today is Tuesday so I am “free”.

     This leads to my second area of creative oppression. Even if I am able to find an open spot on my daily calendar, the environment in which I am working may not be conducive to creating art. For instance, I may be working in a place where there are constant interruptions and thus constant breaks in thought. I may be dealing with uncomfortable room temperatures, or poor lighting. Even the size of the creative space can put a damper on things. I knew an artist who actually worked in a closet because that was the only space they had available in the house. There was barely room for a sheet of drawing paper on the little table that was crammed in it. So the solution is to identify, or inventa work space that is prime for your creative musings.

     Sometimes I have the time and space but simply freeze up about what idea I want to covey in my work. This is usually a derivative of pressure. It can appear in the form of a deadline, or simply a negative comment from an onlooker while a work is in mid-process. I can become paralyzed by self doubt and worry. I deal with this by physically removing myself from the studio and going back to the location of my original inspiration. Time away can provide new perspective on things and renewed stimulation. 

     I also find that my lack of knowledge regarding various processes can be a barrier to my creative efforts. Often I will have a great idea but when I began to lay out the steps , I realize that I do not have the skillsto complete the piece. For instance, maybe it requires welding, or detailed carpentry work, or a paint process I have never tried. The solution is to find someone to teach me this process if there is time. If the project has a due date that does not allow for growing a certain skill set, then I hire the work out.  I also add that process to the list of classes I want to take that year. 

     Finally, there are certain moments when finances play a part in inhibiting ones work. Most of the time an artist can route around this by asking for donations, repurposing objects, or using less expensive supplies. However, if the project cannot be altered and donations are not available, the artist may have to put the idea on the back burner for a season. 

An Artist Vulnerability in Their Work

      There are varying degrees of openness that an artist can display in their work. Some pieces may scream personal information that quickly gives the viewer a sense of what emotion the artist was feeling and why, such as Picasso’s “Guernica” painting. Others may be a bit more subtle, where the artist uses symbolism to express a deep emotion that they felt, while leaving room for the viewers personal interpretation. such as the joy felt looking at a Paul Klee color scheme.

     I feel that my artwork falls mostly in the second category. I paint in reaction to personal experiences in my life. The artwork is usually a bit subtle, where the viewer feels the same emotion as I felt but for perhaps a different reason.  I found this to be especially true of my watercolor entitled “Touched”. It is a image of a woman kneeling with her head down and broken shackles on her wrists. Beside her lays a rose with blood droplets nearby, which suggests she was pricked by it’s thorns. Above her the paper is cut out in the shape of a window with bars on it. There are stars in the sky that are also cut out. She doesn't look at the window as her head is down. There is a figure behind the woman that is also cut paper. It appears to be female but is a bit ethereal and ghost like. This was achieved by cutting several versions of the same figure in which the opening became smaller as the layer of paper receded.  I painted this work after going thru a very difficult year. My brother had been killed by a drunk driver, my marriage in great trouble, and a decision I madethat looked “beautiful” at the time but later “pricked” me and left me wounded. . I only 24 but felt completely broken and lost. At this time I began to attend counseling. It was thru this I discovered a strength and resiliency in myself that I did not know was there, This stronger, spiritual self, was the female cut out figure in the painting. She was touching the back of the physically real woman bent over on the floor. 

     I placed the work in several competitive shows and it won every time. There was a connection people felt to it. Ironically, when I asked the viewer what it meant to them, their story had nothing to do with mine. However, there was a link between the emotion they described and the emotion I felt when painting the piece. That of grief and consolation. To some the figure represented and angel, to others, a ghost. To some the woman on the ground was only grieving her loss of blood from the thorny rose. To others, the woman was captive by the bars on the “spiritual” window. I was amazed at all the interpretations people provided. They always concluded their remarks by asking me what it really meant. At this point I would say that they were on target with their ideas but I was not ready to share the details of the events that led me to produce it. One psychologist begged me to sell it to him for his office, claiming that it would have healing affects on his patients. I was flattered but the piece was too deeply personal for me to let go of it.

So it seems that artists may choose how vulnerable they want to be and still be successful, whether their intent be fully revealed,  partially revealed or totally obscure. 

Female Head by Picasso

One summer I traveled to Halmstad, Sweden where I first encountered “Kvinnohuvud,”a 45 foot sculpture made of reinforced concrete by Pablo Picasso in 1971.  Picasso created the piece based on one of the torn paper silhouettes he created.  This particular piece is of his last wife, Jacqueline Roche. It is one of sixteen unique sculptures that the artist donated to cities around the world. The work was installed using the Norwegian concrete sculptor Carl Nesjar, who worked on behalf of Picasso. 

      I approached the tall structure straight on at first. I really was not sure what I was looking at. So I began to move around the sculpture and view it from other angles. It was wonderful how the light played in the openings. It was even more enjoyable to see how the head changed as one moved around it. From the front view you saw a small , almost masculine shaped head suspended on the upper right side. The rest was blank. When viewed from the left side one saw the perfect profile of a woman, including what appeared to be her eye lashes. From the right side, you once again saw the angular masculine head but , much like a flap book, it usually used the woman’s lips on the left side to complete the face. This formed a combination face that contained both masculine and feminine features, where as the left view providedonly feminine features. The statue invited the viewer to keep moving around it as very step gave you a new portrait to look at. The time of day also brought changes to the pieces. At sunrise it was brightly lit and operated as one collection of profiles. However, the afternoon and evening light cast great shadows of the entire sculpture, as well as shadows from the openings. It was as if there was a second art piece in the shadows. This light play, along with the varied views on the sculpture kept the viewer moving in order to see what new impression they could get from every angle. It simply could not be fully taken in from one position.

Alexander Calder: Art in Motion

     The first time I saw a mobile by Alexander Calder was in the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston.Texas. I was a undergraduate in the art department at University of Houston and came often to study pieces for projects. After seeing many of the paintings, I wondered into a small white room with a large Calder mobile in it. The colorful wire mobile moved slowly around in a way that produced a hypnotic effect. I was mesmerized. Here was a piece of art that not only took up three dimensional space, but also time. How delightful! The more I studied it the more I realized how carefully the pieces in the mobile were designed. First the positive and negative space they created needed to be interesting. The pieces needed to be positioned so that the others could move around it without friction. They also needed to be the right weight to keep the entire mobile balanced. Finally, the color chosen for the pieces on the mobile had to make sense in order to draw the viewers focus to the right spot. So many factors to consider and Alexander Calder was successful at all of them. 

      The mobile I first saw intrigued me because it was playful. I wondered what other work Calder did and set out to research him. I found a wealth of information. He was, in fact, the inventor of the mobile. It came about when he lived in Paris in the early 1900’s. He becomes friends with artists such as Fernand Leger and Jean Arp.  If you look at Arp’s paintings you will recognize the same type of free form shapes as Calder used in his mobile. Calder was also friends with Marcel Duchamp. Was Duchamp’s interest in capturing monition in his paintings an inspiration for Calder to make sculpture that moved? Perhaps. While in Paris Calder created a circus out of wire. The pieces of the circus all had movement. Calder performed a show with his wire circus for his friends in Paris. This was a wonderful kinetic collection where the cannon shot out a clown and the trapeze artists actually swung across and landed in the safety net. The movement in the collection delighted the crowd.

     Calder kept working with moving sculpture pieces his entire life. He started with small mobiles the size of your hand, then to museum mobiles that filled a room and finally to outside installations of huge dimension. These outdoor sculptures did not always move but gave the feeling that they could at any moment such as his fifty three foot “Flamingo” structure in Chicago .     Movement in art was the core of Alexander Calder's work. He was the first to introduce the mobile. He showed us how art was a could be created in multi-dimensional space.

Movement and Visual Culture . A&M Dr. Emily Newman

     This online course requires an extensive amount of reading and writing. At first, it was overwhelming. However, after a few weeks a rhythm developed with the writing. It was more objective, the pace faster, and the reading provoked new thought about art and the writing process. It enriched the student as a teacher and as an artist. 

     The first students blogs required an hour to write. It felt much like cranking up an old rusty printing press after years of storage. Thoughts were scattered and disorganized. The words were common and popped in without much thought. The word “I” was used several times in the initial blog. That changed immediately after reading the first few chapters of “How to Write About Contemporary Art” by Gilda Williams .  Soon huge complicated words were replaced with simple ones. The word “I” disappeared completely. Be verbs were replaced with action verbs. The thesaurus came out and soon trite words were replaced with more descriptive words. After a few weeks of writing, the pace picked up and the writing time needed was cut in half. Thoughts flew in and quickly organized their self into a logical outline. Much of this happened while reading or viewing the videos. Thoughts came so fast that the reader had to make notes as they read.

     Understanding the material was difficult at first. It left the student feeling like he was plowing thru a thick law textbook trying to find substance. Some items had to be reread in order for them to form thought. The readers mind ruminated on them until clarity formed. Then a sort of joy of understanding arrived and finally, personal application. Having an artist who read the course material while they are in studio class is a wonderful juxtaposition. The reading creates new thought and the artist brings it to their personal work. For instance, someone who creates strictly representative art work is caused to consider how to make minimalist work instead. Researching artists and the Biennial Art Exhibit increased interest in modern art and the cultural statements injected into them. It also made the reader aware that art and dance share movement in our culture. The artist then questions what their cultural statement is. They are encouraged to compose their own artist statement.

     The course is very enriching to artist and teachers. It creates a mental environment for deeper thought about our culture and how the artist plays a role in it’s movement. 

Jean Shin Artist Website

The website of Jean Shin captures the viewers attention immediately. There are 20 little boxes that house images of the artist's scuptural work. One can simply click on the image that interests them most and be rewarded with more information about the piece, as well as, other related art pieces. The text is only a few paragraphs which provides a quick and easy read about the subject matter. On each of these pages there are small photo boxes where one can view the work zoomed in for more detail. The photographs are clear and colorful. If the viewer wants a quick run down on installations and works, they can select “Images” at the top menu bar. This provides a running list of installations as text on the left side, while small photos of works with labels appear on the right. Under “Text” on the menu bar, Jean shares her biography. It is unclear why the artist did not use “Biography” for the heading. There is very little about the artist’s personal background outside of academia. This information would be interesting and help the viewer understand what cultural background the artist brought to her work. “Process” is on the menu bar as well. This is a public art project where viewers who attended Pratt University were asked to share personal memories and objects they remember while at the university. Objects that were shared became part of an installation at Pratt University Library in 2012. It is unfortunate that the art project on the website is strictly historical. This leaves visitors to the website feeling as if they were left out and missed participating in the only interactive project. offered by the artist. It would be fun to see some new projects added. Under “New” on the menu bar, the artist provides a recap of all her exhibitions. This assists those doing research on the artist. Shin does provide current show information under “Contact” on the menu.  She lists galleries with her current work and also provides Facebook contact information. 

The Value of Social Media in Art

The internet, Facebook and phone pics have formed a network of support for visual artists. The network did not exist thirty years ago. An artist that wanted to display their work had only two avenues. They either gained acceptance into a gallery or personally promoted their work at art and craft shows. Even then, the artist only obtained exposure at a local level. Only the very elite artists with the best connections became know nationwide. World wide fame was obtainable by even fewer. So it is a wonderful privilege for artists today to have a means of introducing their work to the world with just a touch of a button. This also allows the public to view all artwork available and not just what galleries or juried shows selected. Even the most obscure artist can be viewed by those on social media. This brings art collectors and artists together in a way that requires no middle man. It allows the public to decide what is valuable instead of art galleries. Artists then have a chance for success that is based on public interest and not simply the interest of one gallery or geographical region. An artist that is just starting out has the same chance to make sales online as the long established artist. This levels things and makes the ability to sell art pieces a more even playing field. There are other benefits of social media in the art world besides strictly the retail aspects. Online galleries also provide teachers with a way to share art images easily with their students. Art historians and instructors once were forced to search forart images in books or rely upon their photographs taken while traveling. This required much time and often expense as the images had to be processed either as a slide or a photo copy for hand outs in order to be shared with a class. Now visual art instructors and art history teachers can pull up online images in a flash and share them on a projector screen. They can store images for reference and create power points with collections of art images. The easy access of art images online increases the students knowledge of art in the world. It also assists students as they research art. They can view art from unknown artists as well as famous ones which broadens their art experience. Facebook provides a wonderful avenue for art lovers to share images they have encountered by searching online, as well as , art work seen while traveling abroad. However, there is a dark side to art in social media. That of course is the copyright issue and abuse of art images. When social media was new, there was little thought given to this problem. Images were readily taken and used for the viewer’s purpose without any profit for the artist. Now savvy artists watermark their online images so that they cannot be used in public domain without permission. If the customer pays for the image, they receive one without a watermark on it.  I suppose if one wanted to spend hours in photo shop they could remove the watermark but it is not time effective. So the system seems to work fairly well in preventing the pirating of artwork. When weighing the benefits against the risks, one can easily see that social media is a great tool for artists. It provides art exposure for sales, entertainment, by sharing favorites art experiences online, andeducational benefits for teachers. 

The Pros and Cons of Artists Working Together in Studio

Creating art is a complex process that requires a mixture of conceptual thinking, strategic planning and construction. Artists spend a great deal of time working out a design in their head before it ever reaches the construction phase. So sharing studio space with other artists can present challenges. For instance, it is basic human nature to want to chat when around others. Unfortunately, chatting and conceptualization do not mix well. Also, most artists prefer not to share their work until it is completed as they journey thru the concept in stages. Working in studio with others creates an environment where people are watching each phase of the conceptualization. The surrounding artists may feel free to ask questions or make comments on the art work in mid-production. This can freeze up the free thought an artist used to create. Noise is also a factor in shared studio space. Artists often play music while they work. This can be a distraction to the creative process if each artist prefers different music styles. Some artist create best in total silence. This must be negotiated out by the group in the studio as well as, room temperature. However, artists working together in studio does provide a few perks. Watching others create can be a great form of stimulation for a visual person. Seeing the birth of a painting, or a sculpture forming, can give courage to a timid artist to simply get started. There is also a mutual respect that forms within the group as they watch each other struggle and then find solutions to ideas. This leads to close relationships with people of common interests that can enrich the art experience in many ways, such as visiting galleries together, or sharing art information. Each artists can share their opinions on the art work and gain objective views of their work. Without this in put, an artist might maintain a narrow view of their work and not be aware of the public’s reaction to it. Talking with other artists in studio can encourage an artist to break through a barrier or clear up their focus. In a commercial setting, artists also benefit from sharing rent on a studio space so that it is more affordable. This provides opportunities for exposure that might not be possible for an artist funding their own studio alone. So there are pros and cons to sharing studio space. Each artist must decide what is comfortable for their creative needs. 

The Importance of Artists Routinely Visiting an Art Gallery

There is an old saying in sports “you play how you practice”. The idea is that the quality of the player will come from their daily dedication to the practice. Athletes are also asked to watch play back films to pin point good and bad plays. Writers are encouraged to read and write daily. Many of them are in writing groups so that other writers can critique their work. So it follows that an artist who wants to improve their skill will not only produce art but also observe fine art. There are several valuable by products of viewing fine art. First, it causes the artist observer to question. They might question the message of the art work. Artist can also learn about innovative materials to use to create art by seeing others employ it in their work. Observing art on a routine basis also improves on the artist’s ability recognize good design elements. The artist will quickly breakdown work with ease. Viewing art on a regular basis assists the artist in evaluating their own work. They might find inspiration in gallery work that carries over into their own work. An artist might experiment with new materials in their own work that they saw in a gallery show. Even an artist noting how an installation is placed in the gallery space is educational. This can help an artist learn how to display their own work in a creative way. The artist can sit and listen to other patrons comments on the art space and the art work .This also provides valuable information on how the public interacts with an art exhibit. It poses several questions such as “What kind of lighting is needed? How close is the work to the viewer? What size is the work?”  These are all questions the artist would need to ask of himself if he were to set up a space to exhibit his own work. The habit of visiting an art gallery in person or reading about art, or viewing artist’s work online cultivates fine art taste, This is much like attending winetasting parties and comparing develops a taste for fine wine. If an artist makes work but isolates himself from art being made elsewhere, his view will become very narrow. So it is crucial that every artist reviews art work as well as produces it.

PABLO PICASSO'S IDENTITY AND WORK

Pablo Picasso is an artist name known world wide. His cubistic style of painting was revolutionary in it’s time. One has to admire his creative ability and the courage it took for him to present a new approach to painting to the art world. However, Picasso’s personal life left much to be desired. His relationships with everyone were known to be a bit of a roller coaster ride. One day he is generous to a fault and the next he could be brutal. It was his love relationships that exposed some of Picasso’s worst character flaws. He would fall madly in love with a woman one day and be on to someone new within a year. He had mistresses while he was married and by the time that mistress bore him a child, he was already attached to another woman. He loved women and needed them but at the same time hated them. “For me there are only two kinds of women - goddesses or doormats” Picasso proclaimed.  Several raised his children alone while he went off to start a new relationship with someone younger. He fell in love with beautiful women who were younger than him. He also required women to be shorter than him. He hated his need of women and tried to hide his vulnerability by controlling them. None of his relationships with women ended well. Most of them hated them. Olga Koklova gave up her career as a Russian ballerina to marrying Picasso and bore him a son, Paulo. painted beautiful series of paintings during this time called “Matrenite”. However, the bliss was short lived and the artist was soon continuing on with a string of infidelities. Olga was bitter about the loss of her career and said she “had only one aim left on life- to make her husband’s existence unbearable.” Olga was not the only wife or lover that was jilted and cheated on. Two of Picasso’s wives went mad and another two committed suicide. None spoke fondly of him. Knowing the identity of this artist and his lack of respect for women, makes it difficult for viewers to embrace his work with much regard. He was indeed a brilliant visual artist. It is a shame the image of him as a man over shadows his work.

Jean Michel Jarre "Rendez-vous"

Blog 10. Jean Michel Jarre “Rondez-vous"

Jean Michel Jarre’s 1986 live artperformance,“Rendezvous” in Houston, Texas ,was an unforgettable. The French artist chose the Houston skyline and sky as his canvas. Jarre projected light, music ,fireworks, and images on the downtown buildings to create artwork that was revolutionary for it’s time. The audience arrived early to picnic on the lawn. Soon after, night fell and the grassy field was covered in darkness except for the glowing skyscrapers of the city. The French artist stepped forward. He was only slightly revealed behind a veil of white smoke. He stood there in his red jacket, white scarf and sunglasses like a movie star approaching the Hollywood red carpet. There was anticipation in the air. “Good evening1” he greeted the crowd.”it is a good evening, yes?” The crowd roared. He stepped to an electric keyboard and began to play .Fireworks began shooting off of the top of the majestic skyline. They lit up the sky and clouds as well. As the show continued, bright color bathed each skyscraper and pulsed with the rhythm of the music. Each crescendo brought rapid light change. Each acceleration increased the pace of the light. Jarre then stepped forward to touch a fan of green laser light. As his hand touched each beam a different note played on the synthesizer. It was as if he was playing notes on beams of light in the air. In “Equinox” ,the next section of the performance , the artist played on a lighted electric keyboard.  Images from Texas were projected on the mirrored surface of the tall city structures. There were photos from cotton fields, farm trucks and oil rigs on the modern city skyline.  White glowing photos of America’s forefathers shot across the buildings at a rapid pace, while white search light beams swayed across the sky as if they were looking for some lost plane. The music suddenly stops. There is silence. The sky is black. Then a projection of an astronaut in space and the sound ofthe transmission to NASA. “Houston, the Eagle has landed” The crowd roared with delight. The music slowed and then swelled, in a dance with the light and the images. The heavens glowed, the buildings popping with rotating images that culminated in an extraordinary fireworks show that lit the sky with colors. A choir dressed in white sang with the pulsing music as if they were one of the chords on the electric piano. Jarre introducedRon McNair, asan astronautand friend, who died in the Challenger shuttle explosion that year. McNair was scheduled to play a sax piece livefrom space during Jarre’s concert . A musician began to play a sultry song on the sax while photos of Ron McNair in the space shuttle wrapped around the tall buildings likegigantic drive-in movie screens. The show’s finale was a recording of John F. Kennedy saying that we chose to go to space, not because it was easy , but because it was hard. The crowd cheered. The music bursts into a lively score and lighted geometric shapes danced across the backdrop of the stage. The sky filled with white search lights that also danced around. The performance ended. It left the crowd overwhelmed with inspiration. It was as if, for the first time, light, color, sound , technology and art danced together in the heavens. It was a celestial ball.

Frieda Kahlo

The work of Freida Kahlo is admired by many. In fact it is difficult to find someone who is not familiar with her work. Most know her for the large flower paintings that fill the canvas. However, there were other styles and subject matter that Frieda painted. She had Spina Bifida as a young child and endured 30 plus operations. Later in life Frieda was injured by a street car accident  that left her scarred and childless. So she started  painting more as art therapy than with  a desire to be a famous artist. She married the famous artist, Diego Rivera, which left her feeling imprisoned. She said "I suffered two grave accidents in my life. One in which a  streetcar knocked me down and the other was Diego." Life had dealt Frieda hardships. She remained in her expected roles and dealt with life by painting her pain. One of her paintings, "What the Water Gave Me" was a memoir of her life. It showed Frieda's toes still bleeding from all the physical pain. There were other items floating in the tub that were symbolic of her past. Frieda commented on this painting by saying that she drank to forget her troubles but her troubles knew how to swim and floated to the top of the water. Once Frieda began to sell her paintings and be successful, she divorced Diego and started a new life of her own. Everyone can relate to feeling held down somewhere you do not want to be. The artist has to be admired for embracing each painful situation and rising to the top. She is also an icon for women who want to have their own identity outside of their marriage. She was no longer Diego Rivera's wife. She was simply Frieda. Another admirable trait of the artist is that she made herself vulnerable to others. She was not pretentious and spoke her mind freely. Her creative style, tenacity and resourcefulness as a woman in a man's world is inspiring. She was patriotic to her country and to her heritage even when forced to live somewhere else. Her identity as a female artist and the free spirit she represents give pause for all female artist to consider.

Olympic Posters as Art

It is a great honor as an artist to have your design for an Olympic Poster chosen for publishing. The entire world will see your work and it will be associated with an event that centers around striving for excellence. Although there is no gold medal for visual artist at the Olympics, the artist whose poster if chosen would have many of the same perks as an Olympic athlete. They would have doors open for them that might have been closed. Their work would also be worth more and be viewed as collectible art since it was introduced to the world in a "time stamped" event that all would remember. Although many of the artists who design posters are already famous in their country, they would now be known world wide. This kind of exposure would most likely create commissions for new work, especially in the corporate world. The Olympic posters are really a win for both the artist and the global sports event, as they are both elevated by the art .