I have attended Bethel University in Saint Paul, MN for two years and have never know that they have two art galleries. But somewhat in my defense I am only there once a week for night classes. There are two small galleries there that are about the same size in when our class went to the Ausburg Galleries. I liked the Lee Walton exhibit more, so I would like to describe some interesting artworks I discovered there.
Lee Walton named his exhibitMomentary Performances and Things That Last Longer. The first piece I checked out was, "Twin Cities Momentary Performances, 2009. During September 18-December 13, 2009 Walton choose seven different places to hold a "momentary performance". For example, for Momentary Performance #1, one week prior to the performance at Cuzzy's Grill and Bar in Minneapolis he painted on the blue building, "Friday, September 25th at 6:00pm, 2009 Person wearing a white hat pushing a bicycle stops to eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich". Walton's intentions are to "highlight the subtleties and beauties of everyday people and actions. Considering these mundane micro-gestures as spectacular" (Bethel brochure, 2009). At first I thought this was really weird, but now I am kind of disapointed I missed out on one of the performances. It would be fun to see a bunch of people together, exited and expecting this ordinary task. I like how Walton's art literally goes out into the community.
Another interesting installment piece was called "Fluctuating Floor Sculpture Determined by Rounds of Golf". Walton made a list of instructions for someone else to follow to make the piece that reflected Walton's score in a series of golf rounds. The objects had to be bought at Target, total less then $100, be on the floor away from the wall, not exceed a 5' by 5' square...So in Walton's first round he scored 5, so fived slippers were vertically lined up heal to toe on the floor. In the next round he scored 7, so 7 Dorito bags were vertically lined up next to the slippers. This went on for 18 rows. I thought the piece was comical and fun to have set rules, but still the art piece was all up in the air depending on chance and skill in a game of golf.
Lastly, I liked the "F-book" (Facebook) video. "Using Facebook status updates of his friends and family as scripts, the artist creates daily videos depicting scenarios that are taken to absurdly literal extremes" (Bethel brocure, 2009). One example is, first, it will say, "Billy Lanch is playing fetch with the dog while trying to study". Then it showed a man reading a physics book at the table while with one hand throwing a stick, then it it thrown back up on the table as if the dog is throwing it up there. I personally found this comical because I think some people's facebook status's are just odd or I don't care who is "driving home from work". I like how Walton took these status to the extreme.
Check out information on Lee Walton here: www.leewalton.com
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Friday, December 18, 2009
The Goldstein Museum of Design
This week I visited the Goldstein Museum of Design on the St. Paul U of MN campus. The museum is small, in just one room, but it holds lots of information. Before going to the museum I thought designers designs were basically to please the eye and be stylish, but they are so much more than that! Sometimes furniture needs to be made in a way that is affordable and capable of being mass produced. The designer has to know materials and how to form them, because not all materials are workable. Furniture in the office has to be comfortable, space-friendly, and promote the function of the company. Furniture design has a lot of science and social science behind the scenes. Ultimately, I learned, that furniture can change a culture.
Designs by Charles and Ray Eames are featured in the museum. Check out lots of information on them here http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/eames/eameshome.html. There designs in the 50s helped to modernize postwar America (Library of Congress, 2005). I noticed their designs at Goldstein are modern style; they are sleek, not much detail, functional, and some materials often are chrome and plywood. Their plywood chair was named "Best Design of the 20th Century" in 1999 by Times. Today, I still see their designs used. I see many similarities in some Ikea designs: modern style, easily mass produced, simple materials, simple designs, and still comfortable.
George Nelson's designs are also very interesting. He designed some very functional and unique pieces. Such as the roll top desk designed with Robert Probst. It had a roll top to cover a messy desk, a foot bar to use when standing at the desk, and no sharp edges to work at the desk with comfort. The communication table, also designed with Robert Probst, has sound absorbing panels for the person on the phone all day. At first when looking at one of his designs I thought it was a nice cabinet, then learned the door dropped down for a desk. I liked how he took sleek looking furniture and made it so functional. And if anyone has a desk like me that it un-neatly loaded with papers and various objection, it would be nice to just hide it.
Check out this youtube video by Herman Miller www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpdvEWEWETk&feature=related. A saying pops up,the overall message, "The authentic designs from the original designers". As mentioned before, I see some of these styles in Ikea furniture, but the Ikea furniture is not the quality furniture like Herman Miller has. Once I really liked a chair at Slumberland then saw it again at Schneidermann's for much more money. A sales associate heard me saying this is the exact same chair, I am going to buy it there. She explained that the Slumberland chair has a cardboard backing while theirs is wood and built with much more care and durability. Knock-offs are everywhere, but nothing is going to match up to the "real thing". And good design will offer comfort and durability. If the furniture at Goldstein were not durable and functionable, they would not be around today and featured the way they are. A mass produces Ikea chair will not be in a museum 50 years from now.
My favorite element of the Goldstein museum was the feature on the "ergonomic chair". I had to look up the definition in the Oxford dictionary of ergonomic meaning, "intended to provide optimum comfort and to avoid stress and injury". I learned so much about designing and the importance of an ergonomic chair. It is once of those things I take for-granted each day, the thought that went into my comfortable chair and how it allows me to do my job in an efficient way. There is a lot of science and research that goes into ergonomic chair design that the museum thoroughly covers; such as different gender proportions, sizes of people, spine curvatures, promoting function ability...
The second element, part of the museum I enjoyed learning about, was office layout and cubicle design. Layouts in an office with many desks can be traditional where desks are lined up with hallways or they can be more sparatically spread around the floor space in a "landscape" style. Each layout will affect the culture and function of the company, so therefore is very important. The cubicle design has to optimize space use and help the employee to be more productive. Component needs to be easily assembled, installed and rearranged.
And third I also like the small section of info they had on importance of office textile design. Alexander Girard was director of Herman Miller's textile division in 1952. His "sence of color, geometry, and humor into the fabric collection complement[ed] the modern designs from Nelson and the Eameses [for] environmental enrichment" (Goldstein didactice). An office would be boring with all gray textile, but a bright design could give a person energy to keep them in a good mood and be more productive.
Designs by Charles and Ray Eames are featured in the museum. Check out lots of information on them here http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/eames/eameshome.html. There designs in the 50s helped to modernize postwar America (Library of Congress, 2005). I noticed their designs at Goldstein are modern style; they are sleek, not much detail, functional, and some materials often are chrome and plywood. Their plywood chair was named "Best Design of the 20th Century" in 1999 by Times. Today, I still see their designs used. I see many similarities in some Ikea designs: modern style, easily mass produced, simple materials, simple designs, and still comfortable.
George Nelson's designs are also very interesting. He designed some very functional and unique pieces. Such as the roll top desk designed with Robert Probst. It had a roll top to cover a messy desk, a foot bar to use when standing at the desk, and no sharp edges to work at the desk with comfort. The communication table, also designed with Robert Probst, has sound absorbing panels for the person on the phone all day. At first when looking at one of his designs I thought it was a nice cabinet, then learned the door dropped down for a desk. I liked how he took sleek looking furniture and made it so functional. And if anyone has a desk like me that it un-neatly loaded with papers and various objection, it would be nice to just hide it.
Check out this youtube video by Herman Miller www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpdvEWEWETk&feature=related. A saying pops up,the overall message, "The authentic designs from the original designers". As mentioned before, I see some of these styles in Ikea furniture, but the Ikea furniture is not the quality furniture like Herman Miller has. Once I really liked a chair at Slumberland then saw it again at Schneidermann's for much more money. A sales associate heard me saying this is the exact same chair, I am going to buy it there. She explained that the Slumberland chair has a cardboard backing while theirs is wood and built with much more care and durability. Knock-offs are everywhere, but nothing is going to match up to the "real thing". And good design will offer comfort and durability. If the furniture at Goldstein were not durable and functionable, they would not be around today and featured the way they are. A mass produces Ikea chair will not be in a museum 50 years from now.
My favorite element of the Goldstein museum was the feature on the "ergonomic chair". I had to look up the definition in the Oxford dictionary of ergonomic meaning, "intended to provide optimum comfort and to avoid stress and injury". I learned so much about designing and the importance of an ergonomic chair. It is once of those things I take for-granted each day, the thought that went into my comfortable chair and how it allows me to do my job in an efficient way. There is a lot of science and research that goes into ergonomic chair design that the museum thoroughly covers; such as different gender proportions, sizes of people, spine curvatures, promoting function ability...
The second element, part of the museum I enjoyed learning about, was office layout and cubicle design. Layouts in an office with many desks can be traditional where desks are lined up with hallways or they can be more sparatically spread around the floor space in a "landscape" style. Each layout will affect the culture and function of the company, so therefore is very important. The cubicle design has to optimize space use and help the employee to be more productive. Component needs to be easily assembled, installed and rearranged.
And third I also like the small section of info they had on importance of office textile design. Alexander Girard was director of Herman Miller's textile division in 1952. His "sence of color, geometry, and humor into the fabric collection complement[ed] the modern designs from Nelson and the Eameses [for] environmental enrichment" (Goldstein didactice). An office would be boring with all gray textile, but a bright design could give a person energy to keep them in a good mood and be more productive.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Walker Art Center
This week I went to the Walker Art Center. I went on the free Thursday night and it was so much fun there. Many people were coming to attend the British Advertising Awards.
First, I jumped on a tour of the exhibit Events and Horizen; it was given by the museum's curator! I am really glad I took the tour, because I learned so much about the selected pieces and the layout of the museum. All the art in the museum is beautiful, but because it is so contemporary and new ideas I liked to have someone explain the artists intentions of their work. Such as the piece "3 Pass-stucke (3 adaptives)" by Franz West. West took molded white gauze into three different lump shapes and attached them to iron rods. The curator let people pass around the pieces, hold them and touch them. West's intentions is to break down the barrier between thinking art is precious and non-touchable. He intended for people to carry around these odd objects to reveal their own creativity and psychiatry. On my own I would have never guessed what West's intentions were, I would have looked at the gauze lumps and been grossed out. But it was interesting to see people's reactions to when they first held the objects (very timid) to when they started to have fun with it. Check out the art piece here www.artsconnected.org/resource/88778/3-pass-st-cke-3-adaptives (Sorry I had problems trying to hyperlink the sites).
The curator explained how a person never wants to put too many pieces of alike work together. It is better to mix and match it to keep the viewers on their toes. She said, "I have an envision for people to move a certain way through the museum and you people never go through it the way I want you too."When all the artwork was together, the curator was surprised by how many red pieces of work there are and the artworks of hands. On the night before the opening of Events and Horizens, the curator decided to move the large illuminated photograph "Morning Cleaning, Barcelona" by Jeff Wall into gallery two. It took the movers till 3am and she said it was worth it; Before the room was dark and dead, the illumination helped to brighten up the room. Check it out here: www.artic.edu/aic/exhibitions/jeff_wall/selected_05.html
The photograph by Jeff Wall is of a man cleaning windows at the Mies van der Rohe pavilion in Barcelona Spain. It shows the everyday life at a place with such significance. Interestingly, the curator explained, that the photograph is a "near documentary" meaning it was staged. A cleaner here would never leave mop heads on the floor or let soapy water drip on all the windows down the line. Sometimes to make more of an impact or to make it more noticeable to the viewers, the artist may need to add in extras to get their point across.
The first art piece a person sees when entering Event Horizen is a very large photograph about 5 feet high by 7 feet wide taken by Andreas Gursky in 1955 called "Klitschko". The photograph is taken from a high angle of a sports arena holding a fight. What is amazing to me is the detail in the photograph, usually the bigger the picture or further distance away it looses detail and focus. But one could see a logo on a t-shirt on the other side of the arena from where the picture was taken; it is so crisp and clear. It is true accuracy of "catching an event". The viewer can look at each person in the photograph to see how he or she is responding to the event. Check it out here: www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/klitschko-81kz4cijh9-0-m-342vc36qt9
One of the other very interesting art pieces in the exhibit I liked is "Konvex/ Konkav (Convex/ Concave) by Olafur Eliasson. The piece is of a mirror of about 3 feet circumference. A pump/motor system on the bottom slowly convexes and concaves the mirror. It does it so slowly one has to stare at him or herself in the mirror for a long time to notice it, while the pump makes sounds like breath. The artist intended people to stop at the piece, slow down, and force them to stare at themselves in the mirror. I liked this meaning behind the art piece, that people need to stop once in awhile and truly, deeply look at themselves. Check it out here:http://collections.walkerart.org/item/object/11283
Next the curator walked us to the exhibit Benches and Binoculars. Because the tour was not supposed to include this part she did not say much, but just wanted to say a few things because she was so proud of putting this together. The exhibit shows over 75 pieces in salon-styles; the artworks are almost frame to frame and floor to ceiling in a tall room. It was how art was judged by an academy and place accordingly to on the walls. I really liked the layout of this. It helped to see so many different styles of artwork and to compare them next to each other (and to also catch many similarities). The room was packed and everyone in there was having fun pointing out pictures and looking through the binoculars. It gave people a chance to put down their reserved guards int he museum and have fun; to point out "Ohhh, I like that one". Check it out here: http://visualarts.walkerart.org/detail.wac?id=5306&title=Current+Exhibitions
Next I went to Heugue Yang's Integrity of the Insider. While it is interesting to see installation art and how people portray their ideas, when looking at the pieces I don't get it. I can try to come up with my own ideas, which is an important part of art to have my perception, but I still just wonder, "What were they thinking?" I like how the piece "Yearning Melancholy Red" affected my senses in so many different ways. It had fans for sound and feel, infrared heat for feel, the moving red lights gave a mysterious feels as I walked through the maze miniblind rows. I want to go back to see for the tour of this exhibit for clearer understanding of it. Check it out here: http://calendar.walkerart.org/canopy.wac?id=4668
Lastly I saw the minimalism exhibit Elemental. My one line response would be, "Interesting to see and experience, but do not care if I never saw it again." It was neat how simple an art piece can be. But it did not evoke any real feelings for me.
First, I jumped on a tour of the exhibit Events and Horizen; it was given by the museum's curator! I am really glad I took the tour, because I learned so much about the selected pieces and the layout of the museum. All the art in the museum is beautiful, but because it is so contemporary and new ideas I liked to have someone explain the artists intentions of their work. Such as the piece "3 Pass-stucke (3 adaptives)" by Franz West. West took molded white gauze into three different lump shapes and attached them to iron rods. The curator let people pass around the pieces, hold them and touch them. West's intentions is to break down the barrier between thinking art is precious and non-touchable. He intended for people to carry around these odd objects to reveal their own creativity and psychiatry. On my own I would have never guessed what West's intentions were, I would have looked at the gauze lumps and been grossed out. But it was interesting to see people's reactions to when they first held the objects (very timid) to when they started to have fun with it. Check out the art piece here www.artsconnected.org/resource/88778/3-pass-st-cke-3-adaptives (Sorry I had problems trying to hyperlink the sites).
The curator explained how a person never wants to put too many pieces of alike work together. It is better to mix and match it to keep the viewers on their toes. She said, "I have an envision for people to move a certain way through the museum and you people never go through it the way I want you too."When all the artwork was together, the curator was surprised by how many red pieces of work there are and the artworks of hands. On the night before the opening of Events and Horizens, the curator decided to move the large illuminated photograph "Morning Cleaning, Barcelona" by Jeff Wall into gallery two. It took the movers till 3am and she said it was worth it; Before the room was dark and dead, the illumination helped to brighten up the room. Check it out here: www.artic.edu/aic/exhibitions/jeff_wall/selected_05.html
The photograph by Jeff Wall is of a man cleaning windows at the Mies van der Rohe pavilion in Barcelona Spain. It shows the everyday life at a place with such significance. Interestingly, the curator explained, that the photograph is a "near documentary" meaning it was staged. A cleaner here would never leave mop heads on the floor or let soapy water drip on all the windows down the line. Sometimes to make more of an impact or to make it more noticeable to the viewers, the artist may need to add in extras to get their point across.
The first art piece a person sees when entering Event Horizen is a very large photograph about 5 feet high by 7 feet wide taken by Andreas Gursky in 1955 called "Klitschko". The photograph is taken from a high angle of a sports arena holding a fight. What is amazing to me is the detail in the photograph, usually the bigger the picture or further distance away it looses detail and focus. But one could see a logo on a t-shirt on the other side of the arena from where the picture was taken; it is so crisp and clear. It is true accuracy of "catching an event". The viewer can look at each person in the photograph to see how he or she is responding to the event. Check it out here: www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/klitschko-81kz4cijh9-0-m-342vc36qt9
One of the other very interesting art pieces in the exhibit I liked is "Konvex/ Konkav (Convex/ Concave) by Olafur Eliasson. The piece is of a mirror of about 3 feet circumference. A pump/motor system on the bottom slowly convexes and concaves the mirror. It does it so slowly one has to stare at him or herself in the mirror for a long time to notice it, while the pump makes sounds like breath. The artist intended people to stop at the piece, slow down, and force them to stare at themselves in the mirror. I liked this meaning behind the art piece, that people need to stop once in awhile and truly, deeply look at themselves. Check it out here:http://collections.walkerart.org/item/object/11283
Next the curator walked us to the exhibit Benches and Binoculars. Because the tour was not supposed to include this part she did not say much, but just wanted to say a few things because she was so proud of putting this together. The exhibit shows over 75 pieces in salon-styles; the artworks are almost frame to frame and floor to ceiling in a tall room. It was how art was judged by an academy and place accordingly to on the walls. I really liked the layout of this. It helped to see so many different styles of artwork and to compare them next to each other (and to also catch many similarities). The room was packed and everyone in there was having fun pointing out pictures and looking through the binoculars. It gave people a chance to put down their reserved guards int he museum and have fun; to point out "Ohhh, I like that one". Check it out here: http://visualarts.walkerart.org/detail.wac?id=5306&title=Current+Exhibitions
Next I went to Heugue Yang's Integrity of the Insider. While it is interesting to see installation art and how people portray their ideas, when looking at the pieces I don't get it. I can try to come up with my own ideas, which is an important part of art to have my perception, but I still just wonder, "What were they thinking?" I like how the piece "Yearning Melancholy Red" affected my senses in so many different ways. It had fans for sound and feel, infrared heat for feel, the moving red lights gave a mysterious feels as I walked through the maze miniblind rows. I want to go back to see for the tour of this exhibit for clearer understanding of it. Check it out here: http://calendar.walkerart.org/canopy.wac?id=4668
Lastly I saw the minimalism exhibit Elemental. My one line response would be, "Interesting to see and experience, but do not care if I never saw it again." It was neat how simple an art piece can be. But it did not evoke any real feelings for me.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
The Bell Museum of Natural History
The Bell Museum of Natural History main feature is their dioramas. Here Minnesotans can come view native animals up-close in their natural habitats. So many times I have gone to the Como Zoo waiting by the metal fence to get a glance at the wolf deep in the trees; I have never seen it. But at the Bell Museum, I saw up close what a wolf looks like and saw what a natural home looks like for them. Although the zoo tries, it cannot achieve the animal's actual home environment for their captives. Dioramas show what animals would be doing in their daily lives, such as hunting or caring for their young; Not pacing back and forth in front of a glass window. I was also shocked to see some of the animals up-close and discover something new that I may have never known unless it was two-feet in front of me...I did not know weasels are so tiny, the large paw size of the minx, and what an underwater nest looks like. The dioramas capture, teach, and show what may not strike people in a film or in a book.
Steve Quinn explains the history of dioramas in better words than I can. He said,"Diorams first appear[ed] in the late 1700s, early 1800s as illusionistic, theatrical installations. It wasn't until the late 1800s, early 1900s that they were utilized by science museums for teaching science and educating the public." Dioramas were used to educated the public on dissipating wildlife due to expanding civilization westward. Today the dioramas are still important "to raise awareness and strike an emotional chord among visitors, to make them concerned about the loss and disappearance of wildlife" (Quinn).
The museum has a room called "Behind the Diorama". Inside the room one can learn about the artists , history behind them, the research and craftsmanship that went into designing the dioramas. I learned the background in the diorama creates the feeling of a large environment; the illusions of depth and space make one feel he or she is actually there. Artists and Scientists work together to accurately portray an environment- they sketch, take notes, and collect materials from actual sites. Then the artists may, such as Francis Lee Jaques did, create a small-scale model of the diorama to ensure everything would be correctly places. Lots of more work (too much to explain on this short blog) is put into designing the animals and foliage in the diorama; But a few interesting facts I learned were that some of the fish models have real fish scales on them and creating the foliage is the most time consuming.
Upstairs at the museum is a gallery are environmental art pieces from various artists. I enjoyed the variation the museum displayed of different artists with different styles. Dan Metz painted animals in their environment with oils. Chris Faust took beautiful photographs of of nature scenes. I particuliary liked "Copper Falls" taken in 1993 in Mellen, Wisconsin. It shows water rushing down the falls in a deeply wooded area; sometimes in the city I forget that such beauty is just a car-drive away. Vera Ming-Wong painted upclose painting with watercolors of flowers and foliage. Wendy Brockman painted with watercolors close-ups of leaves to show their intricate detail. While Tim Trost got up close to vegetables with colored pencils (very nice drawings to hang in a kitchen I would think).
Overall, I really enjoyed this museum. I was surprised that I had never been their for a field trip as a kid. I like that it offers artistic beauty with science and learning behind it. I liked that it also helped me to learn more about Minnesota wildlife.
Reference:
Quinn, Steve. http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/dioramas/bison/transcripts/diorama.php
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Ausburg Art Galleries
This week I went to Ausburg College in Minneapolis two view two art exhibits. The first one I saw is Pixel & Pen: An exhibit of digital art and processes in the Christensen Art Gallery. Check out this website for more information on it: http://www.augsburg.edu/galleries/pixel_pen.html. The exhibit features 13 pieces of artwork from various artists, created by various artists by "manipulated traditional media to computer rendered vector and analog art" (Ausburg didactic). At the end of the hallway of artwork is a computer going through a slideshow. The slideshow shows how some of the pieces were digitally created; appearing to be lots of line "drawing" on the computer and layers of shapes of colors. It is amazing how these lines, shapes, and colors come together to look like objects and people.
My first favorite piece is a digital print by Nicholas Blechman titled, "Auto Hell" done in 2002. The background is a royal blue. In the center of the picture shows the front part of a car with the hood up. The car is a simple drawing of black lines, as is the city drawing scene inside the car. Wide black squiggled lines are coming up from the city/car engine representing the pollution. I liked this piece because of the pollution message, it could be a promotion poster on walls. And I liked to learn the process and steps of how it was made from the slide show; I thought the blue background would be the first step, but the center city was actually the first.
The second piece of artwork I liked was "Shoe Show" by Andy Powell in 2009. He used pen, ink, acrylic, correction tape and digital. It shows a woman's fishnet stocking leg in the center of the artwork coming down into a two-inch open toed high healed shoe. The shoe is standing on a red carpet, on either side are spotlights shooting up into the air. The background is a dull grayish blue color that makes the reddish orange carpet line pop. I liked this piece because I would want it for my house. It has a cute 20s/30s Hollywood glamor feel to it. It's neeat that the white spotlights are made from correctional tape.
Next I walked down to the Gage Family Center at Ausburg College to see the exhibit What's Up? by Lucia Hwang. Check out more information on it here:http://www.augsburg.edu/galleries/hwang.html. The purpose of this exhibit, as Hwang states is, "the true confession and acceptance of this schismatic world". In a schismatic world for this exhibit, I think Hwang is portraying the differences between materialistic and non-materialistic people in the world. She describes herself as humble and she is comparing herself to the people that view materials as to what gives them worth.
Hwang uses everyday household materials and adds a humorous twist to portraying the schismatic world. There are four different 3-D artwork pieces, but they are all linked together by an imitation Louis Vuitton like print.
When I see a person with something in a Louis Vuitton print, I think of that object as high-quality, also overpriced to give it a perception to rich people that they need that print to show they social status. Kids beg their parents for Louis Vuitton because it is what the rich and famous have, even if the kid has a knock-off of the print, she still feels an extra boost to her ego.
What is comical about Hwang's artwork is that she uses that print in ways such as in the chalk line of a murder scene, lining in egg containers, a little purse for a display chicken, toilet paper packaging, and the design on the outside of a trash can.
I liked this exhibit. It reminded me that designers/labels do not mean anything. An LV logo on something does not give it worth.
My first favorite piece is a digital print by Nicholas Blechman titled, "Auto Hell" done in 2002. The background is a royal blue. In the center of the picture shows the front part of a car with the hood up. The car is a simple drawing of black lines, as is the city drawing scene inside the car. Wide black squiggled lines are coming up from the city/car engine representing the pollution. I liked this piece because of the pollution message, it could be a promotion poster on walls. And I liked to learn the process and steps of how it was made from the slide show; I thought the blue background would be the first step, but the center city was actually the first.
The second piece of artwork I liked was "Shoe Show" by Andy Powell in 2009. He used pen, ink, acrylic, correction tape and digital. It shows a woman's fishnet stocking leg in the center of the artwork coming down into a two-inch open toed high healed shoe. The shoe is standing on a red carpet, on either side are spotlights shooting up into the air. The background is a dull grayish blue color that makes the reddish orange carpet line pop. I liked this piece because I would want it for my house. It has a cute 20s/30s Hollywood glamor feel to it. It's neeat that the white spotlights are made from correctional tape.
Next I walked down to the Gage Family Center at Ausburg College to see the exhibit What's Up? by Lucia Hwang. Check out more information on it here:http://www.augsburg.edu/galleries/hwang.html. The purpose of this exhibit, as Hwang states is, "the true confession and acceptance of this schismatic world". In a schismatic world for this exhibit, I think Hwang is portraying the differences between materialistic and non-materialistic people in the world. She describes herself as humble and she is comparing herself to the people that view materials as to what gives them worth.
Hwang uses everyday household materials and adds a humorous twist to portraying the schismatic world. There are four different 3-D artwork pieces, but they are all linked together by an imitation Louis Vuitton like print.
When I see a person with something in a Louis Vuitton print, I think of that object as high-quality, also overpriced to give it a perception to rich people that they need that print to show they social status. Kids beg their parents for Louis Vuitton because it is what the rich and famous have, even if the kid has a knock-off of the print, she still feels an extra boost to her ego.
What is comical about Hwang's artwork is that she uses that print in ways such as in the chalk line of a murder scene, lining in egg containers, a little purse for a display chicken, toilet paper packaging, and the design on the outside of a trash can.
I liked this exhibit. It reminded me that designers/labels do not mean anything. An LV logo on something does not give it worth.
The Precious Object
I went to the Cargill Hall within the Central Public Library to view the exhibit The Precious Object. The interesting exhibit “ explores issues related to nature, simulation, craft, collecting, and fantasy” by 14 Minnesota artists. Eah artists artwork is very different from the next; from the idea they are portraying, to the matreials used (carcusses to felt), to the designs (sculptures, paintings, drawings, etc). But in all of their differenent “ideas, perspectives, and personal histories,” the artists have a common theme: Take a second to step away from the digital age, look around and think of the precious tactile objects in our lives (Artmn, 2009).
Go to this website to get exhibit information. http://mnartists.org/event.do?rid=241460
The first piece of artwork I enjoyed was "Where did you come from? Memoirs from the Past Present, and Future, or, the Underlying Connections that Facilitate our Everyday Architecture" by Andy Ducett in 2006. It is a large drawing about 3 feet by 3 feet, done with pencil, pen and colored pencil on paper. Ducett's drawing depicts real and imaginary events while he was at the University of Illinois for five months. Ducettt said, "I wanted this drawing to behave like the inside of my head, showing how memories are ordered, structured, and stored on top of each other" (Henneping Library didactic). What I like about the drawing is that there are so many tiny details in the drawings, I could spend hours looking for them, like searching for Waldo. I like the humor in the drawing, for example a star wars seen and a desk lamp lighting up the streets. It reminds me of a kids creative mind going all over the place. And along with Ducett's explanation of his art, it reminds me of just sitting back and daydreaming; so many ideas and dreams all stacked and intertwining with each other. Which brings me along to his next piece of artwork I liked, "it Could Have Happened Yesterday or it Could have Happpened Today" done in 2009".
The artwork is a college handpicked items stacked together. Some of the items are:record player, desk lamps, sport trophies, animal figurines, weather vain, skateboard, and a scale on the floor set at 280 pounds. The items recall his childhood in Minnesota, departure, and return. Like the previous drawing, he does not display time in logical sequences, but bundles them together. I like this piece like the other, because their is so much detail at every angle I kept trying to discover something new within it. The artwork reminds me of the same reason I scrapbook-to put together lots of loose memories into one book/piece and say "this is me, what's important to me and why I am the way I am".
The third piece of artwork I liked was "Mimicry" by Alison Hiltner in 2009. She used wax, clay, and artificial flowers to create a large flower buds on the floor and climbing up the walls. Hiltner wanted to give life to mundane things as she wondered what the new life forms would look like. I liked this because the flowers were beautiful, but yet did make me a little timid feeling to walk by them. The flowers reminded me of the carnivore flowers from Jumanji. The flower roots looked like spider legs that allowed them to crawl up the walls on their own; looking pretty to trick the passerby into getting close before it jumps out.
The fourth piece of artwork I liked was "54847" by Ginny Maki in 2009. Maki had three residents of Iron River, WI (assuming zipcode 54847) to draw maps of their town with a writing utensil on white felt. She asked them to make it personal, drawing homes and businesses with personal connections. The felt maps where cut apart, threaded and twined together with metal and hung from the ceiling. It reminded me of the Wizard of Oz, houses flying in the air jumbled together as if in a tornado. Maki's artistic objective is to explore the different "relationships formed by a common site and how the personal behavior is recorded through each map" (Hennepin Library didactic). I liked this piece because it reminds me that three people can have a same concept and perceive it different ways, yet the three people are still bound together.
I had never been to the Central Public Library, I was amazaed at the beauty of the building when searching for it in my car. It looked like a castle next to all the other brick scenery around it. Walking into the building of the Central Public Library reminded me of a futuristic heaven. It was sunny the day I went, the sun beamed in through all sides of the glass windows to the sides and above. The rays shined right though the glass elevators and glass guard rails. When going up the escalator, all I could see was the bright blue sky before me; the escalator steps appeared to just fall of the top.
Go to this website to get exhibit information. http://mnartists.org/event.do?rid=241460
The first piece of artwork I enjoyed was "Where did you come from? Memoirs from the Past Present, and Future, or, the Underlying Connections that Facilitate our Everyday Architecture" by Andy Ducett in 2006. It is a large drawing about 3 feet by 3 feet, done with pencil, pen and colored pencil on paper. Ducett's drawing depicts real and imaginary events while he was at the University of Illinois for five months. Ducettt said, "I wanted this drawing to behave like the inside of my head, showing how memories are ordered, structured, and stored on top of each other" (Henneping Library didactic). What I like about the drawing is that there are so many tiny details in the drawings, I could spend hours looking for them, like searching for Waldo. I like the humor in the drawing, for example a star wars seen and a desk lamp lighting up the streets. It reminds me of a kids creative mind going all over the place. And along with Ducett's explanation of his art, it reminds me of just sitting back and daydreaming; so many ideas and dreams all stacked and intertwining with each other. Which brings me along to his next piece of artwork I liked, "it Could Have Happened Yesterday or it Could have Happpened Today" done in 2009".
The artwork is a college handpicked items stacked together. Some of the items are:record player, desk lamps, sport trophies, animal figurines, weather vain, skateboard, and a scale on the floor set at 280 pounds. The items recall his childhood in Minnesota, departure, and return. Like the previous drawing, he does not display time in logical sequences, but bundles them together. I like this piece like the other, because their is so much detail at every angle I kept trying to discover something new within it. The artwork reminds me of the same reason I scrapbook-to put together lots of loose memories into one book/piece and say "this is me, what's important to me and why I am the way I am".
The third piece of artwork I liked was "Mimicry" by Alison Hiltner in 2009. She used wax, clay, and artificial flowers to create a large flower buds on the floor and climbing up the walls. Hiltner wanted to give life to mundane things as she wondered what the new life forms would look like. I liked this because the flowers were beautiful, but yet did make me a little timid feeling to walk by them. The flowers reminded me of the carnivore flowers from Jumanji. The flower roots looked like spider legs that allowed them to crawl up the walls on their own; looking pretty to trick the passerby into getting close before it jumps out.
The fourth piece of artwork I liked was "54847" by Ginny Maki in 2009. Maki had three residents of Iron River, WI (assuming zipcode 54847) to draw maps of their town with a writing utensil on white felt. She asked them to make it personal, drawing homes and businesses with personal connections. The felt maps where cut apart, threaded and twined together with metal and hung from the ceiling. It reminded me of the Wizard of Oz, houses flying in the air jumbled together as if in a tornado. Maki's artistic objective is to explore the different "relationships formed by a common site and how the personal behavior is recorded through each map" (Hennepin Library didactic). I liked this piece because it reminds me that three people can have a same concept and perceive it different ways, yet the three people are still bound together.
I had never been to the Central Public Library, I was amazaed at the beauty of the building when searching for it in my car. It looked like a castle next to all the other brick scenery around it. Walking into the building of the Central Public Library reminded me of a futuristic heaven. It was sunny the day I went, the sun beamed in through all sides of the glass windows to the sides and above. The rays shined right though the glass elevators and glass guard rails. When going up the escalator, all I could see was the bright blue sky before me; the escalator steps appeared to just fall of the top.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
The Minneapolis Institue of Arts
I cannot believe I have never been to this museum, it is amazing! I got lost many times as I went form one room to another. There were so many different thing to see it was impossible to lose interest in anything. Everything was beautiful and I learned so much history. I love artwork that teaches me something about the past and people interpretations of history.
The first piece of artwork I liked was an Enshrined Buddha, circa 1800 from Burma. It is wooden with decorated with gold leaf and mirrors. The Buddha is sitting cross-legged as the didactic states he is in meditation underneath a fig tree. A tour-guide of a group studying religion mentioned that one hand is touching the ground signifying Buddhas as coming to earth. And his bun on top of his head is an extension to heaven. I choose this piece because it is beautiful and because of the deep meaning and religious purposes behind it. To Buddhists this is their ultimate meaning in life, that is a significant piece of artwork.
The second piece of artwork I liked was Portrait of a Boy painted by James B. Read in 1856 in America. I choose to comment about this piece because I liked learning a part of American history. In 19th century mourning rituals were held to remember the dead by viewing a portrait of the dead. The painting is an oil on canvas and depicts a boy, about 5 years old, standing on his porch at home. The withering flowers winding on vine on the porch resemble life is temporary. The painting depicts mourning from the use of the black, red, and white coloring (typical mourning colors) and a stormy sky.
The third piece I liked was Cartonnage of Lady Tashat an Egyptian pine coffin about 710 B.C elaborately painted with hieroglyphs. I choose this piece because its amazing the craftsmanship put into a coffin and learning the history of ancient Egyptians views on afterlife. I like how the hieroglyphs explain the story of the person's life. In this case Teshat, just in her mid-late teens, was daughter of the treasurer of the Temple of Amon at Thebes. Her higher status allowed her to be buried in such elaboration. Her tomb was also actually robbed of jewels from grave-robbers. Its amazing how something so old has survived through time.
The fourth piece of artwork I liked is a crown made in 1920 by an Yoruba tribe from Nigeria. I choose it because I would never think of a crown to look like this. It's an elaborate crown of glass beads, leather, canvas and wicker. The top of the crown is like a funnel. The base is of a face with birds climbing up to the top. Strands of beads come down that would cover the neck to top of the torso of the person wearing it. This crown would be worn by a king, priest or priestesses, and herbalist-deviners, known because they are the only ones that would wear a crown of beads. The face of the person is blocked out from the ordinary people and the birds represent royalty.
The fifth piece of artwork that I liked was Power figure from the Kongo made in the 19th century out of wood, metal, glass, plant fiber, grourd, clay and undetermined materials. It is a dark brown figurine about one foot high the torso and feet are in box shapes. The face is of a man with his mouth open and two different colored eyes widely opened. I am guessing around a hundred nails are driven into the figurine into all parts of the body. I choose this figurine just because it was interesting to see a real voodoo doll. And I thought voodoo was to bring harm on people, but this one was actually used for healing powers and given powers by a ritual healer. A mirror on the figurine "refers to the gateway to the spiritual other world".
The Day of the Dead Alters in the education corridor were very interesting to see and read about. Students from El Colegio, "an urban-based magnet school in Minneapolis made the alters to show honor their past loved ones. I find it amazing when people are given the same assignment, how people interpret it and change it into such different styles of art and make it their own; this is their own form of their artistic impression.
Michael Graves was a featured artist at the museum, exhibiting his building and and consumer product designs. His designs are "classical forms and modern composition with a sophisticated wit." I would describe his designs very modern, straight clean lines, with a cartoony look to some.
Vincent Van Gogh is one of my favorite artists. I was amazing to see such well known artist work in real life. One of the rooms I really enjoyed was the Impressionism room. It included artists such as Philip Little and Theodore Wendid. I like how beautiful all the impression paintings are from a distance and as you get closer you can see all the fine lines of colors with little brush strokes. As seen in Blessing of the Tuna Fleet at Groix by the french artist Paul Signac painted with oil on canvas in 1923. It shows about 20 ships all tightly packed into a harbor in the clear blueish green waters waters. Each boat is brightly painted in primary colors with lots of pright flags on top of the masts and hanging down. In the back ground is buildings and a large hill that blend up into the blue sky. I just love looking closely at all the small brush strokes of colors that almost make you dizzy when you stand to close to move back and see the full painting.
The first piece of artwork I liked was an Enshrined Buddha, circa 1800 from Burma. It is wooden with decorated with gold leaf and mirrors. The Buddha is sitting cross-legged as the didactic states he is in meditation underneath a fig tree. A tour-guide of a group studying religion mentioned that one hand is touching the ground signifying Buddhas as coming to earth. And his bun on top of his head is an extension to heaven. I choose this piece because it is beautiful and because of the deep meaning and religious purposes behind it. To Buddhists this is their ultimate meaning in life, that is a significant piece of artwork.
The second piece of artwork I liked was Portrait of a Boy painted by James B. Read in 1856 in America. I choose to comment about this piece because I liked learning a part of American history. In 19th century mourning rituals were held to remember the dead by viewing a portrait of the dead. The painting is an oil on canvas and depicts a boy, about 5 years old, standing on his porch at home. The withering flowers winding on vine on the porch resemble life is temporary. The painting depicts mourning from the use of the black, red, and white coloring (typical mourning colors) and a stormy sky.
The third piece I liked was Cartonnage of Lady Tashat an Egyptian pine coffin about 710 B.C elaborately painted with hieroglyphs. I choose this piece because its amazing the craftsmanship put into a coffin and learning the history of ancient Egyptians views on afterlife. I like how the hieroglyphs explain the story of the person's life. In this case Teshat, just in her mid-late teens, was daughter of the treasurer of the Temple of Amon at Thebes. Her higher status allowed her to be buried in such elaboration. Her tomb was also actually robbed of jewels from grave-robbers. Its amazing how something so old has survived through time.
The fourth piece of artwork I liked is a crown made in 1920 by an Yoruba tribe from Nigeria. I choose it because I would never think of a crown to look like this. It's an elaborate crown of glass beads, leather, canvas and wicker. The top of the crown is like a funnel. The base is of a face with birds climbing up to the top. Strands of beads come down that would cover the neck to top of the torso of the person wearing it. This crown would be worn by a king, priest or priestesses, and herbalist-deviners, known because they are the only ones that would wear a crown of beads. The face of the person is blocked out from the ordinary people and the birds represent royalty.
The fifth piece of artwork that I liked was Power figure from the Kongo made in the 19th century out of wood, metal, glass, plant fiber, grourd, clay and undetermined materials. It is a dark brown figurine about one foot high the torso and feet are in box shapes. The face is of a man with his mouth open and two different colored eyes widely opened. I am guessing around a hundred nails are driven into the figurine into all parts of the body. I choose this figurine just because it was interesting to see a real voodoo doll. And I thought voodoo was to bring harm on people, but this one was actually used for healing powers and given powers by a ritual healer. A mirror on the figurine "refers to the gateway to the spiritual other world".
The Day of the Dead Alters in the education corridor were very interesting to see and read about. Students from El Colegio, "an urban-based magnet school in Minneapolis made the alters to show honor their past loved ones. I find it amazing when people are given the same assignment, how people interpret it and change it into such different styles of art and make it their own; this is their own form of their artistic impression.
Michael Graves was a featured artist at the museum, exhibiting his building and and consumer product designs. His designs are "classical forms and modern composition with a sophisticated wit." I would describe his designs very modern, straight clean lines, with a cartoony look to some.
Vincent Van Gogh is one of my favorite artists. I was amazing to see such well known artist work in real life. One of the rooms I really enjoyed was the Impressionism room. It included artists such as Philip Little and Theodore Wendid. I like how beautiful all the impression paintings are from a distance and as you get closer you can see all the fine lines of colors with little brush strokes. As seen in Blessing of the Tuna Fleet at Groix by the french artist Paul Signac painted with oil on canvas in 1923. It shows about 20 ships all tightly packed into a harbor in the clear blueish green waters waters. Each boat is brightly painted in primary colors with lots of pright flags on top of the masts and hanging down. In the back ground is buildings and a large hill that blend up into the blue sky. I just love looking closely at all the small brush strokes of colors that almost make you dizzy when you stand to close to move back and see the full painting.
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