Foundation Lecture Series: Book Binding (week 11)

During this week's lecture we learned how to bind small books by using recycled paper, pieces of wood, and a piece of thread.  Alough the class at times seemed crazy and confusing because no one quite understood the directions at first, it got better as class progressed.  It was really interesting to learn a technique that has been used for some many years and that is still used today.  The binding actually made a sturdy book and it was a nice break to do something more "hands on" than just hearing another lecture.  Overall, I am glad we got to try something new and I am really intersted in book binding.

Drawing Final Research

sooo...for our final project in drawing we need to complete a 6ftx6ft drawing that represents you as a self portrait.  Lately I've been really interested in Willem de Kooning and Alex Katz...I did projects on the both of them in high school and since then I've been interested in their work.  I like the layering and gestur drawings in de Koonings work...as an abstract expressionist I am fascinated with his work and will continue to do some readingg on his life and influences for artttttttt...

Although Alex Katz has such a distinct and different style from de Kooning, I love looking at his pieces also.  His style is so specific and even though his pieces are so simple his self portrats have interesting expressions and color choices...

I'm not yet sure how these works will influence me but I will keep researching!

Next I'm going to look at some of Gauguin's work!

As far as the drawing goes, I want to use objects to represent the most important and influential people in my life...I'm just not sure who I want the figure/figures to be in the piece...

Foundation Lecture Series: Lead Pencil Studio (week 10)

This week we heard from Annie Han and Dan Mihalyo of Lead Pencil Studio.  Both artists are architects, so a lot of their work is mathmatical and done on a large scale.  I loved hearing them talk about how they got into billboards from all over the world, and they showed us images of the work process for one of their pieces that was a large wire sculpture of the negative space of a billboard.  The point of this piece was to "fram the sky," which is opposite of what a billboard would normally do.  This piece was so interesting because the weather changes, making the work different everytime you see it and because of its location.  It is the first piece of art you see as you enter the U.S. from off a bay.  Overall, I was impressed with their brillant collaboration of such a fascinating piece of art!

Foundation Drawing Response

"The point is, that every piece of art changes your whole perception of the rest of the world for the rest of your life.
And it's not a joke! And if it doesn't, then it's not art, it's a commodity."
- Lawrence Weiner responding to a question from Liam Gillick in "Between Artists" pg20

When I first read this quote, it immediately put a smile on my face because it is worded so specifically that I could sense the point that Lawrence Weiner was trying to get across and I can find a lot of truth in what he is saying.  The point of art is to evoke some type of emotion from the audience, whether the response is a good or bad one and if it doesn't the piece is not considered to be art.  The work could be so uninteresting, average, or just awful that you don't want anything to do with it but the fact is that the piece has an effect on you.
Then I began thinking, and I found it interesting that everything you do in a sense everyday and you who are is influenced by your own personal life experiences and I believe that its those life experiences that make up your personality and that is why art speaks so differently to everyone.  That is why Weiner can say "that every piece of art changes your whole perception of the rest of the world for the rest of your life," and make the quote so personal and dramatic.  A piece of art could evoke a past memory or really convey a deep message to you and stick with you for the rest of your life while another person finds the piece to be average, boring, or even all-around weak.
Also, I think that part of the meaning of a piece of work being classified as art means that it has that type of imapct on it's targeted audience.  That is why he says it has such a huge impact on the way you view the world.  I think that Weiner realizes that this statement sounds so grandiose and that is why he adds, "And it's not a joke!"
These are the few things about the quote that on the surface I can agree with what Weiner is saying.
Although this may be true, understanding and agreeing with Weiner's quote can depend on how one defines the broad subject of art.  When I looked up the definition on "art," two answers caught my eye: 1. "the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance" and 2. "the craft or trade using these principles or methods."  Does this mean that art can still be considered "art" and a "commodity" at the same time?  It is how one defines art that leads to whether one finds truth to what Weiner states because if art can be both "of more than ordinary significance" (meaning it "changes your whole perception of the rest of the world for the rest of your life" because it stand out to you) and considered a "trade" at the same time, then I disagree with what Weiner is stating.
Another reason I find some fault in what Weiner is saying is because generally, I think that most art is made to arouse a certain response from the viewer; however, what about artists making "art for arts sake"?  Can an artist not just make a piece of art for themselves without having to reach out to someone and "change their perception of the world"?
Overall, I think that all artists have one goal in common when creating art: to create something that has not been created before, whether their intention is to evoke an emotion from the audience or just to create their own piece of work- whether that means that the piece of work is considered "art," a "commodity," or both.

Foundation Drawing Update

Here are some of my observational, "remix" (a collaborative drawing), and perspective drawings.

 

Foundation Lecture Series: Interns and Assistants (week 9)

During this week's lecture the Career Center brought in Tyler students that had previously been interns and assistants for artists to speak.  This week was interesting because it was inspiring to see others who had previously been in our shoes get internships and have these expieriences that will benefit their future careers.  I loved hearing about how these students got internships from large companies such as Hallmark, or even more personal internships from their own professors as artists.  Also, they all had good advice about going after positions that you want and how to network yourself in the future.

Jessica Hische Lecture

This was probably one of the most interesting and inspirational lecture I've heard this year here at Tyler.  Although I'm not that big into graphic design, I loved the style of Jessica Hische.  Hische is a young typographer and illustrator who graduated from Tyler, landed a huge first job in New York, and continued her career from there working for companies as big as Tiffany, Newsweek, and People Magazine.  It was so exciting to see a former Tyler student find out what she truly loved to do and successfully go after a career that she truly wanted.  I am so happy that I got to hear this speech because not only did she have some really good advice about life after Tyler and the business world, she also had some pleasing and entertaining work to see.  Her lecture introduced me to another world of font, and it was fascinating how Jessica was influenced by old font and said that lettering and being aware of what fonts are out there help you to figure out what goes with your style.  Perhaps my favorite quote/piece of advice Jessica said during the speech was to "never make very specific plans for what you want."  Overall I was thrilled to have went to the lecture because she gave insight on what life could be like for a former Tyler student and showed just how appealing font and typeface could be!

Foundation Lecture Series: Ben Volta (week 8)

This week's foundation lecture was different because artist Ben Volta spoke about how he has a studio but rarely ever works from it.  It was a different approach that Volta usually works in the community with students or at home and called his studio  a "home base point."  Volta's dedication and work that he did with the students at local schools was inspirational and unlike the other artists we've heard from.  I loved seeing all of the images of the kids working together to come up with a collaboration of graphic images that were fused together to make a large mural.  Ben Volta seems to be a natural teacher who found something that he loves doing that all helps the community.  I really enjoyed this lecture because he really added a new level to the typical "studio" lecture.