I wasn’t able to attend any of the senior thesis presentations (which I’m pretty upset about) I unfortunately I had to work during them. However, I did attend the thesis show, and was able to attend three of the panel presentations on MIAD Define day.

Critiques:

I was initially interested in this panel because I feel that many critiques in my freshmen classes have been subpar. People are only confident enough to point out what they kind of may like about a piece, and not able to really dig down deep into what needs to be done to bring the piece from mediocre to actual art. This responsibility falls on the instructor as well. The panel was talking about how instructors should have a certain incentive to instill in the students an attitude of brutality for the sake of creating great art. I completely agree with this. I hope as my MIAD education continues, I see more truth and brutal honesty in critiques rather than dancing around a mediocre piece and only pointing out somewhat-decent things about it.

Printmaking:

As a printmaking major, I was sent an e-mail by my advisors strongly encouraging me to attend the printmaking panel. The topic of the panel was how to overcome being lost in the technique of printmaking in order to be able to make real and true art. This highly intrigued me, and I of course would have attended the panel without the encouragement of my advisors. Printmaking is an interesting form of art in that the technique and method are so important to art-making. Whereas with painting and drawing, it’s not so much about how it’s done but rather what the outcome is. The same can be said for printmaking, however one needs to be able to understand how to create this unique type of art through the methods of printmaking. I believe that once a person becomes familiar enough with a certain process, the technique becomes somewhat obsolete. I see it the same way as drawing, personally, except for the fact that the final outcome has taken more dedication. It was really interesting to hear the points of view of many other printmaking majors on the panel. I really valued the things they had to say about printmaking in general as well as their own art. Being one of four freshmen printmaking majors really makes me value the upperclassmen’s insight and thoughts on the process and art of printmaking in general.

Paris:

I already wanted to study abroad to Paris so attending this panel was the logical thing to do. It actually didn’t really provide me much information other than pictures and experiences the group had of visiting France. What gave me the most information was attending the study abroad meeting a few days later. Either way, both events have given me a lot to think about as far as what I want to do my junior year, and how I want to accomplish it.

“Thoughts without content are empty, intuitions without concepts are blind.”

The exhibit that I was drawn to the most was the Fine Line Magazine display. It is a collection of images all on one wall with no space between each block. There is also text and poems littered in between the images. Some of the images are overlaid with typography, giving them a very design-like feel. The display does well to simulate an actual magazine experience while still being presented in a gallery. 

It interested me how the images and blocks of text were displayed flesh against each other, in a giant grid block on the wall. This reminded me of the way the art used to be displayed in the 1800’s Salon de Paris, in which the art covered the walls, floor to ceiling. This creates an interesting aesthetic as the images and text have to work together to be pleasing to the eye rather than just being pleasing on their own. The quote at the top of this post was taken from one of he blocks of text, and I think it does well to illustrate the mind of an artist, as well as the mind of the viewer. This exhibit pushes one to draw one’s own connections between the particular images or text that are next to each other and what their relationship is. This allows for personal concepts to be drawn from each different part of the grid. I think that’s what makes the exhibit so interesting.

Sara Mulloy

Q: What did you major in in school?

A: Painting.

Q: Where have you worked/gotten jobs at since you graduated?

A:  Galleries, a cake shop, a printmaking studio

Q: Where do you work now and how did you get the job?

A: LH (auctioneer) and a columnist for an arts paper. She came across the job while she wasn’t even looking for one—though she said it wasn’t particularly easy to find a full time job being a painting major right out of college.

These answers really helped me out, even though it wasn’t any advice or anything. It reassured me that even though Sara Mulloy graduated in the Fine Arts as a painting major, she still was able to get many different and diverse jobs while still being able to do her own art on the side. This is something I’ve been worried about while deciding my major and direction of life in general so I’m glad that I was able to get these answers. 

Mitch Mortimer

Q: What kind of work do you do and for what?

A: He does illustrations for different establishments—restaurants (kids meals), grade school awareness, publishing, t-shirts—mainly stuff for kids

These answers provided insight for me into the life of an illustrator. I wasn’t too terribly thrilled by the type of work this artist was doing—it seemed forced and constrained to me. It furthered my confidence in the fact that I definitely would rather work in the fine arts than in design. 

Ashley Morgan

Q: Why do you use the certain materials you do in your work (i.e. lake water instead of tap water?)

A: Art is more than just the finished result—it’s about the process as well. She used lake water because the simple act of having to drive down to the lake and actually collect the water rather than taking the easy way out and using tap water gives the art even deeper meaning. The lake water itself symbolizes something that normal water doesn’t—it emulates that organic-ness of nature as well as the dirtiness of society and pollution.

Ashley’s comments gave me a great amount of insight into art with deeper meaning, as well as all the different kinds of materials that can be used and places in which they can be displayed. I thought that my conversation with her was very interesting and insightful and I’m extremely glad I got the chance to talk to her.

I thought that Ashley’s presentation was the most engaging. The things she had to say as well as the books of her work and the books that she admired that were accompanying her made for a very insightful and interesting presentation and conversation.

Thomas Kinkade’s artwork is like nothing seen before in the art world. He is a pioneer in the contemporary movement, raising the bar for the art world. Just as he layers paint to create beautiful colors and scenes, he also layers on concept to each and every one of his pieces, which he himself painstakingly paints. Kinkade is a humble, dedicated artist, simply trying to convey a deeper meaning of art to the rest of the world. His work has come to the attention of the general public, who were so awe-stricken by his attention to meaning within his work, that his pieces are in high demand. Not only because they are aesthetically beautiful, but many people are able to find a large universal truth in Kinkade’s radical and out-there cottage scenes. Despite his growing fame, Kinkade has remained humble and dedicated to the dignity of being an artist. He paints these pieces for his own sanity and relief; the loads and loads of money he’s making has nothing to do with it. Now that’s what I call a true artist.

Artists I Love:

Jasper Johns

Potter Press (Nick & Erin Potter)

(full size)

Luke Pearson

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

Roger Ballen

Egon Schiele

Lou Ros

Sally Mann

Rina Yoon

Nicolette Ross

Artists I Hate:

Damien Hirst

Thomas Kinkade

Ellsworth Kelly

Fernardo Botero

Kazimir Malevich

Jean Baptiste-Regnault

Josef Albers

Bernard Gilardi

Willem Kooning

Peter Blume

(I only put links for artists that aren’t well known)

            Art, in itself, is forever changing. The same goes for the art that I create. Almost every new day brings a new, completely different idea about something I want to create than the idea the day before. But that’s the way it goes with all of us budding artists at the ripe age of eighteen, myself especially. However, there are certain themes and styles I see that thread throughout all of my work. As far as general aesthetics go, I’m very attracted to experimental type mediums and compositions. I also tend to do intricately geared line-work, combining the organic and the geometric. I also love using bold colors, shapes and tones.

            My main interest in art is printmaking. I love the methodical process of each diverse type. The methods and technical skills give me inspiration and leverage when creating and coming up with ideas for my art. I also love the freedom that comes out of it. Being able to make multiple prints of one image and doing completely different, experimental things to it gives me so much inspiration and creative intelligence. Some of the most interesting things in the world to me are studying the way things work and are put together, and really are, without all the preconceptions of human society and perception. In that way I think one of the ideas I wish to convey in my art is truth. And I’m still learning and creating ways to actually succeed with this in my art. Ultimately, I want to be able to enlighten people in a way, and evoke some kind of emotion. Make them realize something. Something about life, art, themselves, myself, each other, anything and everything. I don’t think my art as it stands now expresses that type of large enlightenment, but it’s something I wish to work towards all throughout my life and career.

“My basic idea has not changed, but my thought has evolved, and my modes of expression have followed my thoughts… My destination is always that same but I work out a different route to get there.” -Henri Matisse

I found all three of the readings to be very interesting. Particularly Nan Goldin’s. As far as measuring success goes, I think that Goldin was not in the least bit concerned with fame and success. She took photographs in order to show the truth in things, she used them as a means to document her life and her experiences. It wasn’t until later that she decided to show them as fine art. Maggi, however, is not as interested in conveying the truth or an underlying message. He works for his success as an artist, but humbly produces work. In the reading, he says, “I don’t work like a big man to change the world. I have no big ideas or ideology or big truth. I am a little man working with normal things. I am comfortable with my materials and my scale and my lack of a didactic message. I do not attempt to transform you. This is not an aggressive discourse about the world. I create an alternative world with its own rules.” The two artists are similar in that neither set out at the beginning trying to create something huge and make an immense impact on the world. Each created their artwork based on what they felt, and what they liked. 

In regards to Goldin’s work: I think that the environment in which her work is presented definitely makes a difference onto the perception of whether it is considered fine art or not. I think that her photographs have a certain air of something more than just Facebook snapshots about them, but they would definitely be perceived differently depending on whether they were up on Facebook, or in a gallery space. 

As for Maggi’s work, I don’t think that the particular environment it was in affected the reception of the work as much as it would Nan Goldin’s. Maggi’s sculptures are more societally acceptable in the general aspects, as they are simply for aesthetics and do not instill an ulterior meaning onto the viewer.