Firstly, I wish everyone reading this every success in the coming year, - whatever your hopes are for your art or anything else in 2007 may they all come to fruition! NEW FOR 2007!!!! - Featured Artists! Do this by sending me the exact URL of where you posted the painting on your blog .... I will then reproduce the image on Art Blogs 4 U. When I post the image I will of course add your name, a few details of the work, plus a link back to your blog.
Secondly, here is an update on progress at Art Blogs 4 U:
YOU CAN HELP TO RAISE THE PROFILE OF THE SITE (which will in turn help to generate traffic to your blog) IN THE FOLLOWING WAYS -
As regular postings to the site are very important I would like to start posting an Example of One Artist's work each week, - If you are interested in doing this please send details of the particular painting that you would like me to post.
Technorati Tags art, weblog, blog, artist, paintings, drawings, pastel, oil, acrylic, watercolour, links, list
Selasa, 26 Desember 2006
HAPPY NEW YEAR to Art Blogs 4 U!
Senin, 25 Desember 2006
Philip Edson
My art is very personal and comes from my soul, - that is where my creative spirit lies, and I also believe that our souls must be handled with care. What I mean is that they should not be exposed to the bright lights of the hospital operating theatre which seems to be the way of things these days in all aspect of our every day lives. I think that the creative spirit exists and thrives best in the shadows.
I get on with my work quietly and with my own conviction. The only real consideration is that the work pleases me and passes my careful quality tests. My paintings have their own life and I feel content that many other people seem to appreciate them too. I feel very lucky to have created my own world around my work.
My enduring philosophy is 'Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be'.
Philip's Blog
Technorati Tags art, blog, artist, paintings
Jumat, 22 Desember 2006
Jessica Torrant
After building a history of exhibits and online buyers, I went full time with my painting career in January 2005. It was the best leap of faith I've ever taken! I've exhibited throughout New England and in New York City, as well as participating in international festivals such as the London Raw Arts Festival. I currently enjoy working from my studio at the Indian Orchard Mills, and blogging has become a great way to share what I am working on, where I am showing, and the daily thoughts of a contemporary artist trying to "make it" in an ever evolving artworld!
Jessica's Blog
Technorati Tags art, blog, artist, paintings
Senin, 18 Desember 2006
Paula Manning-Lewis
Art is my calling. Its not just what I do, its who I am! Through 35 years of ups and downs art has been the one constant in my life.
My professional Art career began in March 1991 shortly after the birth of my second son. My hope was to earn the part time paycheck I needed to be a stay at home mom. Fifteen years later, I've sold many drawings and paintings and thousands of prints all over the world! Thanks to all the wonderful people who have supported and purchased my art, my dream has become a reality!
When I began 15 years ago, all sales happened on the road, there was no internet to connect me to the world. Although I still show in Galleries and sell prints in shops, most of my sales happen online. Welcome to the future! The best benefit to this outlet is that I get the privilege of dealing directly with the people who hang my art on their walls!
I live in Albuquerque, New Mexico only a couple hours from my hometown, Las Cruces. I live with my husband Aaron, youngest son Nate, middle son Jeff, and two dogs in a great house about half a mile from the Rio Grande River. Youll find us walking along the Bosque (area of trees around the river) most sunny afternoons. I spend my days (and some nights) working in my home studio, connected to the world by internet. I am also an active member of the Albuquerque artist community. In 2004 I co-founded Seventh Mountain Artists, a group of Albuquerque artists that originally met as art studio tenants at the Harwood Art Center.
I currently work mainly in watercolor, but I have worked with a variety of mediums. I like to paint a fairly large variety of subject matter but stick mainly to southwest landscapes, portraits and my newest fascination, abstract expressionism! Recently, my main theme has been peace. I hope to make my mark on the world by spreading my message of Peace on Earth. I truly believe if everyone did their part, it could be a peaceful world for our children and grandchildren.
Technorati Tags art, blog, artist, paintings
Sabtu, 16 Desember 2006
Jo Castillo
Jo has been drawing and painting as long as she can remember. She works mainly in pastels, although she enjoys many media. She paints what she loves, both in studio and plein air. She is constantly learning and experimenting to improve her work. Jo's training has been through workshops, teaching and just doing it.
Jo was raised in ranching country in New Mexico and she lived for fifteen years in South America (Bolivia, Peru and Chile). Travel presented many opportunities to learn and appreciate a variety of cultures and artistic creativity contributing to her bright and colorful style. Bastrop, Texas is her home now.
Jo's Blog
Technorati Tags art, blog, artist, paintings
Rabu, 13 Desember 2006
Anne Kullaf
Her work has been exhibited at the National Arts Club in New York City, as well as at the Hunterdon Museum of Art and in galleries throughout New Jersey. She regularly exhibits her work at the Salmagundi Club in New York City and is represented by the Michael F. Ingbar Art Company.
She is an artist member of the Salmagundi Club; the International Guild of Realism; Oil Painters of America; Studio Montclair; the Hunterdon Museum of Art; and the Somerset Art Association.
Anne says ...
"My paintings are inspired by the abstract visual patterns that occur around me: motion, repetition, color, texture and light. Using these patterns as a point of departure, I attempt to capture the essence of objects and places with a form of realism that is expressive rather than simply a recording of what I see."
Technorati Tags art, blog, artist, paintings
Senin, 11 Desember 2006
Robin Neudorfer
After graduating from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA, with a BS in Industrial Design, Robin Neudorfer went to work for Landor Associates in San Francisco, CA. She designed commercial interiors for such companies as Banco Union, Panama, Air Cal, USA, Computerland, USA, BiLo, USA, DBS, Singapore, in addition to many architectural graphic programs throughout the world.
Spending five years working for a large corportate identity design office, it was time to her to explore her options. She started her own business in Sausalito, CA and continued to work on commercial interiors, graphic identity programs, and rendering in the architectural and advertising industry.
She was then faced with the conflict of raising a family and being a professional in her field. She made the difficult decision to spend more time with her family. During this time she remained creative by donating three years to a local school by teaching art to the students. She was then contracted by a neighboring school district to teach art to K-5, for an additional 3 years. Robin has raised three children, the youngest being 14 yrs. old, and has also given a home to two foster boys.
Ready to take the leap into a career once again, the decision as to what field was a difficult one.
However, with much help from a mentor, she knows now that the right choice is to follow her dreams into discovering herself as a fine artist. She has taken additional classes such as color and abstract painting through continuing classes at Art Center. In addition she belongs to a women's support group there, called Begin Now. Wet Canvas is another group that has encouraged and supported her in this transition. She has travelled and met a few of the online friends.
Currently, Robin has two new mentors she met through Wet Canvas. William Wray, has taught her the finer points of plein air painting, and Michael Newberry, is currently guiding her on all aspects of her artistic career.
Robin's Blog
Technorati Tags art, blog, artist, paintings, drawings, pastel, oil, acrylic, watercolour
Kamis, 07 Desember 2006
Rebecca Grantham
Cleveland Painter, Rebecca Grantham has a passion for landscape painting.
"Painting outside in nature, en plein air is the most inspiring and rewarding way for me to create.Being outside immersed in nature, I can completely lose myself and be surrounded with the living energy that drenches my senses in beauty. Nature's rhythms draw my breath away, stealing my mind from my thoughts and capture my undivided attention.
What's most important is for me to grab a hold of the essence of an entire series of moments that I am experiencing through my brushes and knives. I carry the patterns of color, light, atmosphere, wind, shape and movement through myself and let them live on my canvas creating an contemporary work of landscape art."
Come see Modern Plein Air, Rebecca's way ....
Selasa, 05 Desember 2006
Greg Kapka
I hail from the British Isles, and am now one year down this never-ending road to artistic self expression.
After regrettably attending University for two years, doing an unfulfilling course, I dropped out in order to follow what I had always wanted to be. Nervous, and with pencil in hand, I enrolled at a figure drawing class in my home city of Nottingham. I haven't even thought about looking back since. I was hooked. Soon, exclusive figure drawing gave way to a curiosity in everything my eyes were able to see. Landscape, portraiture, still life, florals, my work consists of any and all of these. If something interests me, my first thought is "Do I have time to paint that?"
Being so new to the arts, what better way is there to improve than to make sure I execute a painting of some sort everyday, and that is exactly what my blog is about. Anybody, or anything that catches my eye, and sits still for long enough will end up in a Daily Painting at some point or other. Each new picture is as much a surprise to me as it is to you, and I can only hope that what interested me is caught in paint well enough to interest you.
Bon Appétit - Greg Kapka
Greg's Blog
Technorati Tags art, blog, artist, paintings
Kamis, 30 November 2006
Sharon
Having only discovered art in the last few years, I am full of enthusiasm and feel very much like a child in a sweetshop, so many wonderful things to try! I dip into a variety of media and try out every subject in my search for my artistic self and what truly appeals.
My blog is a record of my artistic journey and I hope it will show a definite improvement in my skills as I progress with my learning. In my determination to improve, I try to do something artistic daily. Sometimes I cannot paint as time does not allow but I always sketch.
Sharon's Blog
Technorati Tags art, blog, artist, paintings, drawings, pastel, oil, acrylic, watercolour
Rabu, 29 November 2006
Sue Choppers-Wife
Like most artists I'm still trying to find my niche with my artwork and one way to help do that is to share my thought process as I work. This is one reason I started my blogsite. I hope that by sharing my works in progress along with my frame of mind I might just hone not only my skills but my focus.
I love portraits, mostly because I just have a fascination with skin and how many tones and colors make it alive, but I want to explore other subjects like still life and landscapes to learn and see new things too. I also want to grow...it's not enough to learn technical skills...I have to learn to step off the edge and see where I land...and it's a lot easier when you know others are following along and cheering you on.
Technorati Tags art, blog, artist, paintings, drawings, pastel, oil, acrylic
Selasa, 28 November 2006
Lesly Finn
I am English, a mother of four children and a registered nurse. In 1999 I emigrated to New Zealand with my husband, since when I have been able to pursue a long held dream of expressing myself with paint. I work mainly with pastel or in acrylic on canvas, and I sometimes incorporate collage.
When working with pastels I aim for a ‘painted’ look, and I often smooth on several layers with my fingers to this end. With acrylics I might use many thin glazes of colour over textured effects, or apply the paint thickly using a palette knife or by a variety of implements. One of the delights of painting for me is the continuous development of new skills and techniques which can be utilised in future work.
Although my images often contain landscape elements, my real interest lies in depicting people and a shared experience. My vision is for my paintings to intrigue, to tell a story or to evoke an emotional response in the viewer. Some of my more recent works explore a less literal approach to expressing those ideas.
Technorati Tags art, blog, artist, paintings, pastel, acrylic
Senin, 27 November 2006
Art Blogs 4 U
The purpose of this blog is to provide a centralised List of artists who write about their art on their blogs. The layout of the site may change from time to time but the List itself will remain on the main page so will always be easily seen by visitors. I will be posting to the blog at regular intervals in order to maintain its 'visibility' and raise its profile, and artists who add their names are invited to send me a short description of their blog or their art work to include in these posts. These short 'bios will also be linked into the main list.
HOW TO JOIN
This list is open to anyone practising 2-dimensional fine art who writes a blog about their work, but please no blogs about digital art or photography.
All you have to do is leave a comment to this post which includes your name exactly as you want it to appear in the list, e.g. Sarah Doe, or Sarah Doe's Art, or The Complete Doodler, etc.
Also please type out the URL to the blog you want listed (sorry, no websites will be accepted).
Please state which category you wish your art blog link to appear in (in addition to the main list) from the following:
Watercolour, Oils, Pastel/Other Dry Media, Acrylic, Landscape, Fabric Art, Abstract
Links will be added to the main list on a regular basis - but even if this is delayed for any reason your link will be in the Comments so you can't really lose!
Please place a reciprocal link to this site on your own blog.
PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO SEND ME YOUR BIO (or e-mail me if you'd prefer me to write something)
N.B. The Blog Owner reserves the right to remove the link to any blog that is not about 2-dimensional art or which contains lewd, libellous or otherwise offensive material.
Blogs will be added at the Blog Owner's discretion. I will only add blogs once they have been in existence (and have had new posts added regularly) for at least 3 months. This is standard practice for Lists ... although many require 6 months.
Technorati Tags art, weblog, blog, artist, paintings, drawings, pastel, oil, acrylic, watercolour, links, list
Between us (and the body). Shen Wei
A Chinese photographer moves to the U.S. Here, he discovers bodies. Bodies as social places. Bodies as identifiers, as the places of definition. How does the place one belongs to relate to the body one owns (isn't this a beautiful expression? to own a body...)?
Shen Wei's series Almost Naked is a guided tour of identity caught in body. Or of the body as caught up in identity. Whichever way you put it, there is a feeling of self, that is, that the pictures are not of the person's body, but of a person as she reveals/hides herself. There is a certain foreigner's curiosity of how the others deal with who they are, what they are, and what they can present to someone else. This curiosity, and the way the subjects deal with it, is one of the most delightful aspects of Wei's work.
Once I achieve the trust of the model, I can feel their energy and their desire to be seen and be explored but at the same time still reserve some for themselves. It is in those Almost Naked moments that my subjects are the most exquisite, when things occur, and what generally is not displayed initially in public is exposed. I emotionally and physically strip the sitters when the trust and friendship is built between us. The key to building that trust and friendship is to make them feel at ease with conversation and personalized emotion contact. It can sometimes be psychological, sometimes more sensual, sometimes more or less sincere, depending upon the personality of the sitters and the intimate level of the environment. It is the art of psychology within making art.
None of the people smile.
I found this through the placebokatz blog, which to my great joy (as always when that happens) has put a link to this humble page.
Sabtu, 25 November 2006
Yinka Shonibare and the artist's freedom
Shonibare's most famous works play on the idea of origin and power. The first lecture is clear: headless people are scrambling for Africa. They are dressed in European clothes, but made of African fabric. They are false. But this goes further. The type of cloth they use, called batik, is used throughout Africa (and not only) and considered a local tradition. But, as Shonibare says, that is not the case:
...the fabrics are not authentically African – they were produced by the Dutch in the 19th century and then subsequently by the English for sales to the African market.That makes the situation even more absurd and scary. What is left of Africa? And what can be left for Africa?
But there is another issue related to Shonibare that has been interesting me more. The freedom of the artist vs. the necessity of his functioning well in the system.
Let's start off with this:
Yinka Shonibare, The Swing (after Fragonard) (2001)
How much does the artist need to know about what he is doing?
And really the idea behind it is to draw a parallel with the relationship between the contemporary first world and third-world countries. I want to show that behind excessive lifestyles there are people who have to provide the labour to make this kind of lifestyle happen.But generally I think I made a piece of work about this painting because I actually admire the work very much. And I like the contradiction of taking something that’s supposedly ‘ethnic’ and putting that onto classical European painting.
All this seems fairly light, naive, compared to what the critics have to say about Yinka Shonibare's works. Does this mean he is unaware of the worlds he is creating? Is he simply using strong imagery that brings about a huge load of references? Possibly. Does that change anything? Does that make him a worse artist? Should the artist be his own critic? Should he be a philosopher as well?
Obviously, the artist part of being an artist is to make art. And then, see what happens. That's in the ideal world. In the one I know, the artist also sells his product, by being who he is, by having the life he has, by speaking the way he speaks. This doesn't signify the impossibility of defending oneself through work alone, but certainly makes it all the more difficult. And brings another issue.
What if Yinka Shonibare didn't make contemporary ethnic art? What if his work were just contemporary, and dealt with, say McDonald's or sex or any other issue? And let's imagine, for the sake of the argument, that it weren't any worse than what he is doing now. Would we know him? Who would he be? Would it matter that he is black, was born in London, lived in Nigeria and studied at Goldsmiths? There is a very irritating way the art world defines itself through basic associations of life and work. Possibly this has to do with the art having moved into a direction that is so difficult to judge (although artists like Shonibare play remixing the old school in a somewhat old-school way) that more is required in order to give it value (clearly also market value).
Isn't there something wrong with this picture? Some sort of an obsession that has more to do with the way one is seen than with the way one sees? Of course, Bacon had enough guts to spill them over and over again on the canvas. But let's put it bluntly: most of us, most of artists, are not Francis Bacon. And still, they keep on painting the same painting. Looking for what? Perfection? Style? Truth? Exploring? Or self-branding, self-censoring?
Yinka Shonibare, Toy Painting 26 & Toy Painting 27 (2005)
Art Blogs 4 U .... and it's Day 3
Sorry!!! - had a bit of a glitch yesterday and sign on box disappeared (totally my fault and won't happen again, promise!)
New Sign on is started below and original names are now on permanent list.
About Art Blogs 4 U
Have you ever tried to join a list of links to art blogs? (there are several around)
Did weeks go by and your name not appear?
Like to help to make THIS list a success?
If you answered YES .... then PLEASE READ ON!
HOW TO JOIN
This list is open to anyone practising 2-dimensional fine art who writes a blog about their work, but please no blogs about digital art or photography.
In the first box of the Linky below write the name exactly as you want it to appear in the list, e.g. Sarah Doe, or Sarah Doe's Art, or The Complete Doodler, etc.
In the second box add URL to your blog only (i.e. no websites).
Links will be added to the main list on a regular basis - but even if this is delayed for any reason your link will be on view in the Linky list so you can't lose!
Placing a reciprocal link to this site on your own blog would be very much appreciated and will help to increase traffic to the list.
N.B. Blog owner reserves the right to remove the link to any blog that is not about 2-dimensional art or which contains lewd, libellous or otherwise offensive material.
Technorati Tags art, weblog, blog, artist, paintings, drawings, pastel, oil, acrylic, watercolour, links, list
Kamis, 23 November 2006
About Art Blogs 4 U
Have you ever tried to join a list of links to art blogs? (there are several around)
Did weeks go by and your name not appear?
Like to help to make THIS list a success?
If you answered YES .... then PLEASE READ ON!
HOW TO JOIN
This list is open to anyone practising 2-dimensional fine art who writes a blog about their work, but please no blogs about digital art or photography.
In the first box of the Linky below write the name exactly as you want it to appear in the list, e.g. Sarah Doe, or Sarah Doe's Art, or The Complete Doodler, etc.
In the second box add URL to your blog only (i.e. no websites).
Links will be added to the main list on a regular basis - but even if this is delayed for any reason your link will be on view in the Linky list so you can't lose!
Placing a reciprocal link to this site on your own blog would be very much appreciated and will help to increase traffic to the list.
N.B. Blog owner reserves the right to remove the link to any blog that is not about 2-dimensional art or which contains lewd, libellous or otherwise offensive material.
Technorati Tags art, weblog, blog, artist, paintings, drawings, pastel, oil, acrylic, watercolour, links, list
Selasa, 21 November 2006
Shadowing light. Jindřich Štreit.
I feel like showing most of the images on the site which represents him, www.talent.cz.
One thing makes me wonder. All of the pictures above were taken in Czechoslovakia before 1989. The question that comes to mind is: what can be the role of the circumstances on a photographer's quality? If a photographer is a document-maker (in a broad sense, and I mean a photographer that goes out of the studio), than doesn't the reality he has access to play a crucial role? How would he deal with a less unreal reality?
Jindřich Štreit tried. Many of the pictures were taken in France, some in Germany (?). And they do look more pale. Some of them are very pretty, some play with the idea of social criticism, but it seems far from the quality of the Czech works:
So the question is: can the world be really becoming boring, or is it just becoming more alike to a certain standard we are used to, and this standard is just as ex-centric to someone from somewhere else as this someone is to us? And another, more specific point: what is the artists position in this mutating situation? Or rather, what are his possible positions? How does the role of a witness change in these changing times?
Senin, 20 November 2006
Imagining we would like abstract painting and would actually accept things that don't say anything, don't even smile or bark, simply have colors
Sabtu, 18 November 2006
Make art to experience and not art to read about
"7. Don’t make modern art.
Modern art tends to be ironical, cynical, self referential, afraid of beauty, afraid of meaning
-other than the trendy discourse of the day-,
afraid of technology, anti-artistry.
Furthermore contemporary art is a marginal niche.
The audience is elsewhere.
Go to them rather then expecting them to come to the museum.
Contemporary art is a style, a genre, a format.
Think!Do not fear beauty.
(...)
Do not fear pleasure.
Real people are starving for meaningful experiences.
And what’s more:society needs you.
Contemporary civilisations are declining at an unsurpassed rate.
Fundamentalism.
Fascism.
Populism.
War.
Pollution.
The world is collapsing while the Artists twiddle their thumbs in the museums.Step into the world.
Into the private worlds of individuals.
Share your vision.Connect.
Connect.
Communicate.8. Reject conceptualism.
Make art for people,
not for documentation.
Make art to experience
and not to read about.
Use the language of your medium to communicate all there is to know.
The user should never be required to read a description or a manual.Don’t parody things that are better than you.
(...)
Don’t settle yourself in the position of the underdog: surpass them!
Go over their heads!
Dominate them!
Show them how it’s done!Put the artistry back in Art.
Reject conceptualism.
Make art for people, not for documentation.
Make art to experience and not art to read about. Use the language of your work to communicate its content. The audience should never be required to read the description.
The work should communicate all that is required to understand it. "
-
Realtime art manifesto (fragment)
by Auriea Harvey & Michaël Samyn(but see e.g. the comment to this post at networkable social object for a critical view of the above)
Jumat, 17 November 2006
Delicious.
The only thing that irritates me here - and I suppose that's just a silly problem - is that the brilliant guys that created this, Winkler and Noah, have absolutely no problem whatsoever selling these wonderful, environmentally friendly messages...
But just go beyond the surface of it's all the same and compare this to Adbusters. While Adbusters try to be the Good Guys (with all the risks that are part of it), Winkler and Noah would be an example of the UnGuys - neither good or bad. Excellent quality for sale. Sound right?
(via)
Kamis, 16 November 2006
The Perfect Gift
Keep the world full of surprises.
If you don't have any books to cross, and are really not in the mood for a birthday party performance, then think of something else. Make it fluffy, hard, shiny, matte, transparent, sticky, disgusting, funny, shocking, simple, personal, whatever you make it,
hide it.
Anywhere you want, as long as it's a place accessible to anyone.
Then, go to Drop Spots, and put your drop spot on the map. So far, it seems to have been extremely popular around Belgium and the Netherlands. I suppose the authors - Brijetta Hall, Dan Phiffer and Ed Purver - might have something to do with it?
So far, there is only one drop spot in Lisbon. Hopefully this will quickly change. I'll try to participate as well.
(There isn't a single drop spot in Poland! Get to work, people!)
***
How far are we today from the first experiences with 'pervasive internet' by the folks from Blast Theory? Not very far. The gaming industry is getting all happy, there are new initiatives (especially with locative media, but not only - see this absolutely amazing site with pretty much everything you thought was possible already cataloged). But one can feel all this is still very young. Artists don't really know what to do of all these possibilities. It seems like the world is suddenly too large, not too small. And so these are small experiments for something that, I think, will be much more impressive, overwhelming, and deep-going than anything we see around today. Are you as curious as I am?
Selasa, 14 November 2006
Layers
This is not a concrete column. This is not graffiti. This is something entirely different. It is a picture, a photo of graffiti. It is printed on dibond, the type of aluminum that is used for traffic signs, for example. And these metal sheets are then screwed onto a plywood construction. And all this is put in a different, non-street setting (in this case, the «lovely Dicken's Library of the Mary Ward House, Bloomsbury, London», but in another, more gallery-like setting, which make it seem much poorer, almost as if it were a strictly site-specific installation).
But what is striking about this is that it is exactly what it seems - a dislocated object, a rupture in reality, an addition that questions its context. In that sense, it is correct to say this is a column with graffiti. Because here, in this space, that is what works, what creates the tension. And then, all the other levels come into play, in this sort of a hide-and-seek of «objectiveness». It all stops somewhere, because it is a self-commenting (self-referential, if you like) convention. It plays on the very fact that it's a fake. And that it is still incredibly near to reality. So near, the showing fragments of plywood actually seem glued onto the concrete pillar.
The fact that the installation is in a library seems crucial (no matter why it actually got there). It speaks volumes about what we are, who we are. Our «means of expression» and aesthetic values and the gut need for destruction (or is this just me?). At the same time, it is a taming object. It tames the defying attitude of the original by turning it into a slick, clean, savvy copy of itself. Now, this is the pillar of knowledge. Of civilization. Of us. It is what sustains - or what makes us believe it sustains the heavy walls of our libraries. And if we ridicule it for being a fake structure, we might just bee too confident in our own walls. Underestimating the actual proximity of the object, and the image.
Kristin Posehn, Replicant (2005-2006)
Sabtu, 11 November 2006
Magdalena Jetelová. How much should we know?
See this>
My recent lectures, concerning Shakespeare, his work and times, put these images in a great perspective. What is the disappearance of the battleground? And the rupture between violence and human territory? Is it about the transmitting of the violence as a value, from generation to generation? An ever-available tool? Then the battleground disappears, since war becomes a state of mind rather than an act, which is but its realization. It is the possibility of all wars against evil, be it another culture ("barbarians" means "the foreign ones") or another, more sophisticated concept required to execute the inherited right to violence ("war on terror", of course...). So the battleground disappears, and there is a rupture between violence and human territory - because it isn't about the land any more. It is about identity. About preserving what is mine, because it is mine, and because it is what it is and is in danger of becoming what it is not. Suddenly, seen from this point of view, war is everywhere. It is unbearably flexible. It becomes this dark, black mass that is there.
Then there is another level. Atlantic Wall is the title of the series of pictures by Czech-born artist Magdalena Jetelová. The Atlantic Wall, (ever heard of the Siegfried Line?), were huge fortifications made by Hitler during WW2 along the coast of the Atlantic. What does that knowledge change? How different is the spectator's position? Now go a step further in the mythological aspects of the Atlantic Wall. And now, go for an informed review. How does your response to the work change as you discover the various layer? Does it necessarily get «better»? You don't need a spoiler to make it a spoiler. In this particular case, the Atlantic Wall looked at with all the info, seems like a mere illustration to a book. A beautiful illustration, but not more. It is very difficult to forget. Go back to all this Shakespeare, which from this perspective can seem like naive babbling of an ignorant.
Among Jetelová's many great projects, one of the most powerful ones is the Domestication of a Pyramid (to see more pics, on her site go to global-pyramids, then click on pyramid corners).
Once again, my silly question: How much should we know? In this case, I preferred to remain innocent and not inquire. After all, once I know, I cannot unknow, can I?
Rabu, 08 November 2006
Senin, 06 November 2006
The Thought Project by Simon Hogsberg is very close to the spirit of Sophie Calle, with a slight postsecret twist. Here, too, the idea is simple: ask strangers what they were thinking at the very moment you stopped them. What impresses is the quality of the answers. It seems everyone here is either a writer or a character in a book. That is the impression I have gotten when (rarely) I had the chance to see/read Sophie Calle's work. How can the world be so filled with these amazing characters, these wild thinkers, these witty artistes... Don't get me wrong - not necessarily complex, deep thinkers. But... good people. Ben Harper asks Where'd all the good people go. To the Thought Project.
Then again, Hogsberg interviewed 150 strangers. And on the web page have 55 of them speaking. How was the choice made? In this case, isn't art the sort of science which can allow itself to be subjective, to be flawed, to be partisan? Don't we deserve some hope?
Kamis, 02 November 2006
Happy Housing
(via)
Rabu, 01 November 2006
Two more pics of Cabrita Reis + bonus
(part 1 here)
It is constructed. It is not freely distributed. It has a structure. It is the structure it has. The lights have rhythm. The lights are the chaotic order that sustains. They... some are covered with glass. Like a mirror of water. But their transparency doesn't support. Is it protected by those tables? Can we sit on the tables? And what about the guard? Does the guard know he is performing? I suppose so - both him and his colleague try hiding every time I take a picture. What is this light for? What lack of purpose? Who can I ask? Can I ask? Look at this red, look at this brown, look at this gray. Does it ring a bell? Does it ring? And once again: what are we shedding the light on? What foundation? What does it matter? After all, if it is THE FOUNDATION, shouldn't it matter? Those damned neon lights don't even shed the light, they produce it and let it go...
Something apparently useless, apparently stumbling, ending, losing itself, or outdating itself? Then, as long as you persist, as there is another structure, and another, as there is a view, and a point of view, and a work, a body of work, you just find yourself within it,
if you please.
And as a bonus, you get an engraving of an actor in a Japanese opera, from the wonderful exhibition of Japanese engravings, also at the Gulbenkian Foundation, only in the Library building.
Selasa, 31 Oktober 2006
Pedro Cabrita Reis - «Foundation» at the Gulbenkian Foundation
Foundation is, of course, the Gulbenkian Foundation. I have myself had the chance to discover some of the Foundation's warehouses and storage rooms, and it was an impressive experience. The average visitor has no idea that the two buildings, seperated by a medium-size, beautiful park with a pond in the middle, are actually connected underground. And I suppose that's where most, if not all, of the material for Cabrita Reis' work comes from. Neon lights, glass plates, old tables and shelves, cables, more cables, boxes, fragments of stairs, marble bases for sculptures, huge stones... The guts of an institution renowned for its clean, effective approach. The entrails we shouldn't be seeing, impressed as we like to be by the harmonious landscape designed to be seen from the outside, never from the inside. What is the impression now? How does it change our perspective, our view of the basis? The Gulbenkian Foundation can afford this self-irony. It is generous enough, and has good enough taste.
Is this ridiculous? Shouldn't we be analyzing something else? After all, Foundation is, of course, not just this foundation, but the foundation of something, the basis, the beginning, the rule - what Germans call Grund. Knowing Cabrita Reis' work to be often focused on the art world and museum institution as such, this might be the foundation of art, the real foundation of art, apparently chaotic, meaningless, or at least incomprehensible, often unaccessible (we can walk on some parts of the installation, but in an arbitrary way it is decided by the guards that we cannot walk on other parts), complicated, complicated, overwhelming... and yet, somehow harmonious, fitting, as if there was space for us, as if there was space for what we do, for our creation and our appreciation, for free-associating and even squatting on a stone, if we insist (although I haven't tried that, the guards might react).
If all this can be dwelved into, then why do I prefer to describe the Gulbenkian warehouse? Maybe because the one thing that's difficult to comprehend is how direct this link is. We are there, at the Center for Contemporary Art of one of 10 richest foundations in the world. And yet, this is the way it works. This is the foundation. It is a complex game of basic elements. Of course, with a Corot stuck somewhere to a wall.
Sabtu, 28 Oktober 2006
On Performance Art, In Lisbon
At last! Some good quality theoretical debate about performance, in Portugal! This is a very unexpected early Christmas gift.
With artists such as Rui Horta and Pedro Tudela, and among the curators, Isabel Carlos and the Portuguese star-curator Delfim Sardo, this is going to be a delicious series of conferences. Considering performance is one of the crucial languages of today's art, this is a must-see.
This series of lectures takes the practice of performance in visual arts as departure point, with a view to covering certain thematic extensions that contribute largely to the definition of the individual nature of each performance.More on the Culturgest site.
In addition to an historical approach, the lectures will concentrate on these thematic extensions, thanks to the contributions of a group of speakers from different fields, work areas and artistic domains.
Rabu, 18 Oktober 2006
Both pictures are by Margi Geerlinks, at the Aeroplastics gallery in Brussels.
Her works seem very uneven, some are simple "surrealist" plays with meaning, others are quite clever social commentary, others yet - really freaky stuff, way out there. But one thing is sure - she doesn't stop herself from going after what the mind's eye sees. Of course, that might not always be good.
I really liked both the works above. The first one, because making simple yet sustainable statements is extremely difficult. The second, because... what in the world is that? Extremely aggressive, yet organic, what starts off sexy ends with a scandal. And then, why is the scandal a scandal? This reminds me of elephant man, the figure/state and the film. But it's... controversial. In the litteral sense - it goes against the flow. The shock is not in the ugliness. It is in the denial of prettiness. What's wrong with us? What's wrong with us? Why is pretty so pretty? Why is not pretty such a problem? Say it's pretty, believe it's pretty.
There are other works in Margi Geerlinks' portfolio which I simply didn't dare to put here.
Selasa, 17 Oktober 2006
Why I like Elizabeth LeCompte
Everything I come up with in my head, I put it on stage. But in 90% of the cases it doesn't work, precisely because it's in my head.
I think about what the audience will think. Every single moment. I want to be there, every evening, and observe what people do when they watch the play. If I feel them disengage or feel uncomfortable, it forces me to think about what I really want.
- Elizabeth LeCompte, artistic director of The Wooster Group, in an interview with the French review Mouvement (no.41, oct-dec. 2006). (my translation)
Do the above two quotes appear innocent to you? If they do, you probably don't have much contact with contemporary performance. These two sentences are sure to shock a lot of the avant-garde purists out there. The second sentence is simply a shocker: a seemingly avant-garde artist thinking about the audience? How dare she! She is supposed to be focused on art, on her experience, on the stage, on the essence, or on the periphery, but hers and hers only. The public should be the witness of something beautiful, not a criterium of artistic choice... Oh, how tremendously, absolutely silly. How pretentious, snobbish, irritating. How old and tired and, silly, just silly. And naive.
Notice LeCompte doesn't say the public's opinion decides. She doesn't say she changes everything if the public doesn't like it. But it makes her rethink. In her own words, "it forces" her. She doesn't feel there is really any choice. Is there? Certainly. You can turn your back to the ignorant multitudes and do your own thing your own way for your own self. You can have an inner voice that says this or that. You can be forever faithful to this voice. It's up to you. Or you can have a little modesty. And listen. And respond. Or not. But listen.
The first quote has to do with creativity on stage. LeCompte has no problem saying she has ideas first, then she comes into the rehearsal space and tries them (all!) out. Instead of doing it the traditional, "new" way, devising everything together in one pretty melting pot. Instead of making everything appear out of improvisation, as is expected from a performance group. And if that were not enough, she admits that yes, 90% of her ideas suck on stage. And she doesn't see any problem with that. And it works.
(at least I hope it does. if you want to confirm - go see The Wooster Group's Hamlet at the Festival d'Automne in Paris, Nov.4-10 at the Centre Pompidou.)
Minggu, 15 Oktober 2006
Fixing theater
In the next couple of years I'm determined to make a couple of independent short films. I' m disappointed by a great deal of theatre. I love it, but I am beginning not to like its transience; as I get older I want to do something fixed.- Pete Brooks
found here, along with a couple of other great quotes from the book On Directing
.Videoart contest
Magmart | International Festival of VideoArt | 2nd edition
"Is now starting, till February 2007, the 2nd edition of Magmart | video under volcano, international festival of video art.
The festival is a production of studio tad, with partnership of Casoria Contemporary Art Museum, GenomART and Computer Arts magazine (italian edition)."
Enrico Tomaselli
festival staff
info@magmart.it
http://www.magmart.it
Skype: MetaArt
Aram Bartholl is playing with your life
Aram Bartholl, First Person Shooter
Pretty self-explanatory. Among Bartholl's projects there are several ones playing with the idea of an "online" gaming world. It is all light-hearted, smart material. Taking oneself just seriously enough, but for heavens' sake, not too seriously! See, for example, this charming film from the WoW project:
(if nothing appears, see here)
Notice that the first work shown here seems to be created by someone protesting against the violence in video games. But discovering the artist's portfolio makes us realize he is rather someone who has been working (among others) on the crossing between real life and the gaming reality. This hides a very interesting and delicate issue: the spectator usually expects the artist to have some sort of an agenda, a declared ideology that he would be pursuing (here, it could be pacifism). Instead, artists often work on a vocabulary, a particular language, rather than an idea(l). Matter forms itself in a certain way and the artist, like the first spectator, discovers its dynamics and its possible readings. Especially in the world of theater (though not only), this makes a lot of people uncomfortable. The idea of an artist as someone entirely in control, like some mad scientist who knows what he is inventing (!) makes it difficult for many artists to assume: this is what I discovered, I'm not sure what it is, but I like it, and I hope we can all find out more about the potential vectors of this...thing. As Goat Island puts it, "we have discovered a performance by making it".
