Brainstormed Titles

Holes and Folds
If it ain't Baroque
Reflections on NeoBaroque
Implications of the infinite
(in)finite

Neo-Baroque Concepts (Kamila)

• mappings, both physical and virtual space 
• random ideas: Google Maps (traffic view, street view, satellite view, terrain view)
• made me think of the stalker tradition that Ndalianis mentioned
• the fragment and the whole ("unlike the detail, the fragment is both reliant on and independent of the whole") 
• colonizing space

Neo-Baroque

Please just post some key concepts that you would be interested in exploring in a collaborative project. For example, I would be very interested in interiority/exteriority, understanding reality (or veils of reality),and mirroring/reflection as methodology. Maybe make a list of three items or so.

Susanna Moller

Susanna Moller renders portions of the human anatomy in small format watercolor paintings. The paintings, each measuring eight by twelve inches, isolate different body parts for depiction: four teeth protrude from the fleshy gums in one, in another a single finger hovers alone. This isolation, which Moller achieves by excising these specific appendages and organs and placing them in the empty expanse of the surrounding blank page, disturbs the otherwise mundane subject matter moves towards abstraction lacking any of the usual physical anchors with which we would normally view them.

The manner in which Moller paints heightens this abstraction. Lacking any visible brushstrokes the colors of the painting blend softly into one another. The affect of the paintings is far too striking to call the painting sloppy, however, there is a looseness, a softness to the marks. This in combination with the light watercolor results in a kind of delicate image. Though it does not seem to be an attempt at highly detailed depictions of the human body, there is a nuance in their delicacy. What is achieved is a kind of visceral realism; leaving room for the imagination to enter. Pleasantly running through the gradiated tones with the eye, the mind is able to take hold. Perhaps this feeling stems from the fact that it is the human body that is depicted, one can almost not help but empathize with the forms, connecting them to our own physical experience.

It is this connection that makes the pieces so powerful, so disturbing. The delicately rendition is juxtaposed with hideously deformed appendages. Toes and fingers are bloated, twisting, painfully crooked. A jawline jumbled with teeth of markedly different sizes jutting out at unnatural angles. These haphazard assemblages of flesh and bone so abstractly rendered transform into rows of mushrooms, the ruddy color of the skin, rows of blackened cavity-filled teeth, shift into a fungal patina.

The viewer’s relation to the images becomes an upsetting one, both heightened by and emerging from the physicality of pieces. The work is upsetting in the feeling created by the grotesque deformations but also in the way in which these deformations move towards abstraction; it is difficult to ever completely resolve the images. They are unstable representations, interpretations flow into one another like the watercolors on the paper.

I cannot help but recall the paintings of John Bell (http://johnmartinbell.com/), whose work occupies a similar position between abstract and representational. Whereas Bell is trying to capture a feeling of life in motion it seems here as if Moller almost moves in the opposite direction, but with an interesting nuance. Depicting the process of decay Moller lends it its own special vitality in motion.

Hannah Shepherd’s piece, 35 mm, expands on the concept of her last piece. Again, she arranges slides—created using two transparencies: one, the original undistorted image, placed on top of a second, the same image as the first, but modified using Photoshop—in chronological order. However, unlike the composition of her previous work, the slides create a continuous line of images, two hundred inches in length, at two inches per slide. This unique composition creates movement within the piece: the viewer follows the slides from left to right, while focusing on one image at a time. I find this considerably more successful than the composition of her first piece, a collage of images with a less obvious direction in which the images should be viewed.

The contrast between the scale of the individual slides and the scale of the piece as a whole is extremely appealing. While the slides draw the viewer in, I found myself stepping back from the work in order to appreciate its extensive length, as well. Considering its dimensions, the construction of this piece is incredibly impressive. Hannah obviously learned from her previous work, and considered areas of possible improvement while building the support for the slides. The wood used to construct the framework keeps the slides in line, without overpowering their delicateness. Hannah’s decision to install this work in a dark hallway was also well thought-out. Not only is there a complete lack of competition with anything else remotely visually intriguing, but the “direction” of the space parallels that of her work, as well, further adding to the sense of movement within 35 mm.

The editing technique used to distort images divides their compositions into distinct areas of color. When covered with their original images, this distortion has a blurring effect on the overall aesthetic. I’m particularly drawn to this aspect of Hannah’s work. Because the details of the images are lost in the distortion process, the piece seems to emphasize non-specific—almost insignificant—moments in time, rather than the individual identities of the people represented in the slides.

An aspect of the piece I think could be improved is Hannah’s selection of images. While all slides are compositionally strong, I find the colored images more aesthetically successful than the black and white images, which don’t allow light to filter through as well. Additionally, the colored images are more appealing from a distance—the contrast between the abstract shapes of intense colors is compositionally interesting even when the images themselves aren’t recognizable, while the black and white images lose some of their attraction when viewed from several steps back. But overall, this is an interesting, conceptually strong, successful piece.

Susanna Moller

Susanna’s work consists of many small watercolor studies of parts of the body that have been subjected to painful or grotesque process. Some are simply age, others are physical bodily harm, and others are discolorations or mutations of body parts by outside forces.

The most striking thing about this work is the use of color and line to really make the studies jump off the page. The picture of the bloodshot eye in particular comes to mind here because of the beautifully rendered veins in the white of the eye and the individual eye lashes that look as though they have been clumped together by tears. The eye is also looking up which gives me the idea that they may be putting in eye drops or they may be having someone look in their eye to see if there is anything in it. I think these factors make the work real and relatable and it remind me of when I got sawdust stuck under my eyelid and had to get yellow chemicals put in it and had to wear an eye patch. This ability to bring back memories or reactions so vividly marks a very successful piece of work.

I feel the use of color here is also particularly successful. They bring out the grotesque factor I think Susanna was going for very well. The colors in the eye make me cringe at the thought of the pain and the colors on the study of the teeth just make me glad I don’t drink coffee and still make me want to go brush my teeth. In this picture, the gum line is also particularly gruesome. Not only do the teeth look stained and as though they are riddled with cavities, they also look extremely painful because of the inflamed, red gums. What works so well here is the fact that the red is so purposefully located. If the entire gum line was such a dark red, it would not be so noticeable. The fact that the gums get very light to the point of white makes them seem even more unhealthy and with the strip of bright red at the top, they look positively painful.

The second pair of teeth I looked at simply made me cringe, which in this case, is a positive comment. The fact that the gums are purple is simply disturbing. It makes me try to think of diseases that cause gum discoloration. Once again here the teeth themselves are discolored and stained. The different colors, black, dark brown, and dark yellow make me wonder what the person could have done to get such bad teeth.

The fact that each of the pieces in this work made me wonder about the person as a whole and worry about them and be disgusted by them all at the same time make this project a complete success in my mind. The color stands out the most but the size and small details draw the viewer in. I would love to see this done on a larger scale though I think the detail would have to be even more impressive to keep the viewer interested in a larger version.

-Carly

Phoebe has built two individual rooms, entitled Bedroom and Kitchen, each just under the length of a foot. They are filled with objects, furniture and decorations that match the scale of the room and as if the occupant were several inches tall. While some of the parts seem to have been made especially for this project, such as the wooden cabinets, many are objects that have been transformed for the piece. Bottle caps have become seats and the surface of the stove, crayons are used as table legs, an ibuprofen is now soap by the kitchen sink and a die has become a tissue box. Part of a towel has been cut to create carpeting for the bedroom and the back wall is covered with an image that has been cut and rearranged. The rooms are not physically linked and there are no doors leading out of either. Still though, the similarly playful themes and the positioning of the rooms next to each other makes both works read as connected. The kitchen has a window over the sink to denote space outside.

The combination of found and bought materials, the colorful atmosphere and the realization of what each piece of furniture or decoration is actually made of draws the viewer in, mimicking one’s development of comfort in a room. Phoebe described her thought process in making these rooms, and a focus on their interior design, with the hope to embody the transformation of a living space. The rooms evoke this transformation in terms of physical understanding and by means of meaningful presence.

What is thought provoking about Bedroom and Kitchen is that there are no people in them, although they both contain objects and marks of a very regular home life. It is somewhat creepy looking at these rooms, as the viewer it feels intrusive to examine them. For me, the transformation did not occur in the understanding of what materials were used; rather, the transformation was in considering these rooms to be someone’s home. This project evokes the moment of transition of a home from an outsider’s perspective to that of a comfortable lived-in space. It successfully makes me consider the still silence of a home during the day when no one is home versus the possible chaos of a family’s return and the ensuing night. Evidently, the design of these rooms has made me consider the lives and characters of the people that could possibly occupy them.

While these two rooms succeed to bring to mind the lives that make use of them, this sentiment would be more substantial if the rooms contained flaws, mishaps and disorder. They hold activities and chores, from the books on the shelf above the bed to the sink of dirty dishes, but still it is notable that almost everything is organized. The bed is made, the floor is cleared and the counter tops are clean. The rooms successfully embody a personality and are creatively made, however they would hold rawer sentiment if they were more unkempt, with accidents and tasks waiting to be completed.

-Susanna

In her final projects, Phoebe Currier explores the creation of spaces through the illusion of rooms, which she crafted from a combination of found and repurposed objects. At first glance, these rooms consist of the standard miniatures, objects created in the same way as their larger counterparts but on a smaller scale, like dollhouse furniture. While the artist created some of the pieces in the room (i.e. the counters and the bed) from scratch wood or fabric, at closer inspection many of the objects in these rooms had a former identity as trivial objects in the larger human world. The stove is an electrical box with a bottle cap range and handle made of nails. The carpeting in the bedroom is an old towel. The soap dish in the kitchen is an aspirin on a button, sitting on a sandpaper counter. There are button dishes in the sink as well! The bedside table uses playing cards on a spool of thread, and the chair in the bedroom uses game pieces for the legs. The trashcan is a measuring cup from a medicine bottle and the kitchen table’s legs are crayons. These rooms become little puzzles, as the viewer begins to search for the original sources of these miniature household items. I think Phoebe is most successful in her repurposing of these found objects, as opposed to elements she crafts from scratch. The cabinets, made from wood to look specifically like cabinets, are too similar to their full size counterpart, lacking the formal depth of the other elements that repurpose everyday items. The use of found objects creates a tension between the illusion of realism of the rooms and the familiarity of the trivial objects. I find the stove especially successful in creating the illusion of realism while simultaneously showing quite clearly how it was made. The bottle caps and pull-tabs from cans are recognizable, and yet the arrangement of these elements creates the gestalt of a stove. Phoebe is truly successful in her ability to create miniature rooms that feel like actual spaces, despite the obvious use of repurposed material. Both rooms emulate the various textures and colors found in real spaces, and this eclecticism creates a real aesthetic personality for the set as a whole, making the rooms feel as though they belong to real people in a real home.

-Hannah Shepherd

Evan Hockett's Prints - Amy Tsui

Evan Hockett’s project is a group of four well-crafted prints done through the process of subtraction. Three prints, excluding the bottom left print (which I will refer to as the last print), each seem to display a violent and sad message of war by including a weapon, roosters, and a child (only in two). These prints are separated, in content and composition, from each other and from the last piece. They are done in a manner that appears to be drawn on rather than subtracted, while the last one uses the subtraction process to create the image on a black background. The last print, focused largely on a dark composition, seems to close the whole piece as a sort of resolution. As such, the arrangement is of interest as the story seems to be connected and end on the bottom left but leaves the order and the start of the story to be unknown.

The styles these works are accomplished in appear to be urban and similar to street art. There is a kind of dirty look and feel that pairs well with the content of war, which is mostly denoted by the weaponry. This can be compared to the last print that is fairly clean and not as worked and instead seems to depict defeat. To me, the story reads somewhat like a video game because of the last image. The image seems to be playful because of the crown on the bull, though if the print is separated from the group, could be read differently. The street style and the inclusion of children and animals seem to support a video game narrative as street art can be playful in a similar manner.

However, those elements can similarly be read as serious. The manner in which they are depicted then makes us question the choice of imagery. Why is the child in this image of war and what is the significance or symbolism of the rooster? This now instead seems to speak to the harsh realities of war. Children do not belong in war but they have been in many instances of history. The weapons are done in a clean, detailed manner, making them a focus that is visually pleasing but even more stressing content-wise. Their diagonal placement in two works make them drive the story further and the heavy placement in the third piece makes it solemn and weighted. The roosters add a sort of humor though characteristics of roosters are then considered along with the message of war. They contrast with the bull in an interesting way as they seem to be powerful and strong and not defeated and small. The style of these works also seem similar to propaganda and as a result could be read with a social function or commentary.

To summarize, the work is beautifully depicted, showing great craft, but is still somewhat playful. The content is serious but elements added make us consider the content further. The style is also clear and has a distinctive character. Overall, the piece is very successful and professionally done.

Susanna Moller watercolors

This series of watercolor drawings by Susanna Moller explores different parts of human body in unnatural circumstances. She has drawn them in a way that provides the viewer with a variety of views on the process of aging and bleeding through different forms. These images are beautifully painted in vivid colors and the lines are defined.  Overall, the images draw attention through the utilization of intense colors especially the contrast between the browns and yellows. Some of her images provide us with an extensive view of foot or mouth while others only show individual toes. Some of them are contextualized such as the teeth; others are floating such as the eye image. In terms of size, the forms are painted on a small scale in different positions on a white canvas in a group as a collection.

As I view this work, my eyes are led over to the intense contrast of colors, which help reveal the texture of the different depicted forms. Interestingly, this piece looks appealing at first, mainly because of the utilized colors. But as soon as the objects depicted read as abnormal body parts, the colors become repulsive instead. The blues and reds are not indicative of the real life, and the fact that they are associated with the human body is appalling, mostly because one would not want to see such colors on his body. Moreover, the colors incorporated help enforce the idea of bleeding and perhaps aging. However, the very tension between the grotesque taste these images imply and their beautiful depiction creates an interesting work. This is true for most images but more specifically the eye image; despite the disturbing feelings it agitates as a result of the bleeding eye, many individuals may still want to observe it. The eyelashes form and texture as well as and the positioning of the eye ball accentuate the general abnormality of the eye. The reds here encourage some sort of disgust, and creates an interesting texture that renders the bleeding effective.

 While all the images are minimalist in size, and while I wish if they were drawn on a larger scale, I believe that some of them are more successful than others. The teeth set images for example are contextualized just because the teeth are situated within the gum. For this reason, the teeth images are more engaging to the audience and are more expressive of the human element. On the contrary, the eye image is floating without ground, which dehumanizes it. On the other hand, whereas the lines in some images are naturally flowing, the lines are cut sharp in the foot image. As a whole, the images are unified and contained. 

Olivia B.

Kill Joy - Clint

Kill Joy - Clint

This sound piece consists on multiple tonalities of layered in a 60 second endless loop cassette. These tonalities are done with a guitar, rather than using a heavily distorted characteristic found in many of his other works. This tonality creates a tranquil atmosphere providing the opportunity to the listener to discern every note and drift in the space within the loops. These tonality is interrupted every 60 seconds, reminding the listener about the materiality of this piece, as well as the time spent listening to this work. This gives the work an imperfect characteristic, which is part of the piece as a whole. In this work, not only the tonalities being reproduced are important, but also the materials used when reproducing it. After the pause, the listener comes back again to this tranquil atmosphere that the sounds provide, until it is again interrupted after 60 seconds. After being interrupted for several times, the listener is aware and anticipates the moment when the sound will be interrupted again. This gives the work a non-resolving state, in which the listener is always waiting for the melodies as well as waiting for the interruption.
The interruption of the sound piece works well with the calmness of the melodies, since one is an abrupt change, while then giving the listener again the relaxation and tranquility that he or she was enjoying before the interruption. The melodies then become to interplay with the material chosen to reproduce this piece, then working both as a whole. The longer the piece is played, the interruption becomes less abrupt and becomes part of the whole melody, since the listener is always anticipating this interruption.
I think this work was successful since the harmonies create a harmonious atmosphere for the listener, but not to the extend that the listener will get annoyed or bored of listening to them, since there is always the change with the interruption of the cassette. I think it brings the listener to an interesting play between what it has been created by the artist and what the artist cannot control because of the nature of the cassette. The listener plays between what he or she is listening to and what its being expected and anticipated. Either the listener is awaiting for the interruption of the tonalities and the interruption of the “tranquil atmosphere”, or is awaiting for these tonalities to begin again after the interruption has occurred. In addition, I think that not having the heavily distorted characteristic makes this piece more successful since this way it is easier for the listener not to get annoyed by the tones after listening to them for a while.
- Diana Ossa

Evan Hockett, artist critique

Review, Amy Tsui (skulls on Plexiglas diptych)

The most striking formal aspect of Amy Tsui’s skull diptych is the way in which she utilizes layered Plexiglas panes in order to achieve pictorial depth within both works. This technique serves to enhance the viewer’s perception of physical space in a composition which, composed of a single figure, would otherwise be characterized by one-dimensionality. In this way the very structure of the artist’s chosen canvass plays in integral, and successful, role in the ultimate resolution of the picture plane into a space with discernable depth. If the artist were to continue working on Plexiglas, I believe it would be worth exploring the use of light shone through the stacked sheets of plastic, thus drawing attention to the layered quality of the piece and adding further texture to an already rich canvass.

The repetition of content within each half of the diptych also plays a strong role in the viewer’s overall perception of the piece. The same skull is depicted from the same angle in each half of the piece, a fact which I immediately registered upon viewing the piece. The strong connection between each piece’s content naturally engages the viewer in a visual dialogue carried out between the two skulls. Because the two are identical in origin, a fixed variable within the picture plane, the focus of the conversation then shifts to the style in which each skull is rendered. Herein lays one of the most interesting aspects of the piece. By creating a situation in which the viewer is encouraged to draw strong comparisons between each piece, the artist naturally highlights the differences of each half of the diptych. For instance, the background of the upper sheet is left clear, allowing the viewer’s eye pass directly through the Plexiglas eventually coming to rest on the wall on which it is hung. In contrast, an unmodulated orange plane comprises the lower half’s background. The lack of a pictorial background in the upper piece situates the painted and collaged image on the wall itself in a manner reminiscent of poster and street art. In contrast, the painted background of the lower half maintains the autonomy of the picture plane, thereby utilizing the depth of the Plexiglas without relinquishing the skull to the wall behind it. If the artist is to continue exploring the relationship of the wall to the image as in the upper half of the diptych, it might be worth considering the visual quality of the wall itself. Rather than an untreated wall, the artist might paint or collage the wall itself, thereby furthering the dialogue of layers already present in the piece.

Finally, a strong collage element is present in each skull. In the upper half of the diptych, the upper dome of the skull is comprised of a photo, merged seamlessly with the hand painted portions of the skull. The teeth of the lower skull are rendered in the same fashion. While the dome of the upper skull situates itself relatively unobtrusively within the composition of the upper pane, in contrast the teeth of the lower pane stand out quite clearly from the whole of skull. In my opinion, the use of collage in the lower pane is more successful than that of the upper pane specifically because it does not hide the fact that it is a piece of collage. Because the layered panes of plastic already situate the composition in the realm of collage, it makes sense that the collage elements within the image of the skull identify themselves as such, thereby furthering the conversation between disparate elements which, despite their physical separation ultimately comprise a unified whole. In this way I feel that the artist was on the right track with her use of teeth in the lower skull.

Christopher Squier: Scribblework

Christopher Squier’s scribblework explores the transcendence of two dimensional scribble drawings into the three dimensional realm. He uses thin black fabric to emulate simple yet elegant scribble forms and pen drawings of scribbles on the walls behind the sculptural pieces to shadow the three dimensional forms. The black scribbles which Squier created are rigid and positioned in contrived shapes which contrast the flimsy fabric from which they were made. He uses these forms to travel across and within space, allowing him to literally draw in space. Some of the scribbles reside directly on the wall while others travel off of it and between spaces. The pen drawings on the wall mimic the forms of the black fabric scribbles but interpret them in a very different manner. They are flat and crisp creating a backdrop and reference point for the three dimensional scribbles to interact with. Some of the pen drawn forms mimic the fabric forms while others take on forms that are in direct opposition (straight long lines) to the twisted shapes formed by the fabric. One of Squier’s pieces includes four fabric scribbles which are accompanied by pins which document the form of the shapes themselves based on the amount of loops, angles, and overlaps each squiggle has, quantitatively naming the forms via a visual representation. Although Squier’s work is separated into groups of squiggles they work together as a set which explores the idea of how space functions as a drawing material and the relationship between two and three dimensional forms.
The black fabric scribble forms move through the space of the wall and also sit within it as a static plane. Each scribble takes on a different connotation based on its relationship to the space and the other images Squier uses. By using the shelves to sit the fabric squiggles on and drawing the fabric between walls he emphasizes its physical nature. The shadows of the scribbles add another element to Squier’s piece, drawing another line on the wall which interacts and suggests space. The pen drawing, fabric squiggles, and shadows create a conversation within the space and the forms. They relate to each other in different way based on the distance of the scribbles from the wall and the form of the pen drawings. The black and physical nature of the sculpted scribbles often dominates the lightly drawn and controlled pen scribbles, however, the permanence and adhesion of the pen drawn forms on the wall quickly balance this also referencing the ephemeral, temporal nature of the fabric forms.

This work seems to largely be an exploration of line and drawing. Scribbles are free-handed, quick, uncontrolled forms, which Squier has translated into controlled forms through sculpting of the fabric and the transfer of scribble forms in pen onto the wall. Squier’s piece is successful in providing a broad definition of drawing. What one may consider “drawing” is broadened through his use of space, shadow, and line which bridge the gap between drawing as a two dimensional and three dimensional practice. Through this work the essence of drawing in the form of a scribble is transcribed into a sculptural space and is then further interpreted into a narrative drawing through Squier’s use of the pin naming. Although the image may be simple and unformulated the process and expansion of this idea into an unconventional drawing stretches the viewer’s perception of what drawing is and where a drawing can exist within the context of contemporary artistic practices.

-Jo Murray

681 Jo Murray

            Thinking about the surroundings is really important. In Jo’s piece she shows this by the use of the classroom’s bugs near the windows. Thinking about our surroundings and the attraction of the bugs to go towards the light is important, because their death becomes an important symbol that becomes art. Having the same type of bugs is important because Jo differentiates between the bugs.

            Making this distinction helps create a sense of identity that helps the audience distinguish one bug to another. The idea of creating variations of each bug with the number of spots and colors are things that make things apart from one another. The things that all the bugs shared together are their death, as well the species they all come from.

            The day of the critique there were 3 different plates that where connected to one another. In it there were 2 types of lines that differentiated from number, that were place apart from the corners. In the middle of the two pieces of paper there was an obscure figure that resembles a shape of a bug. In other words, there were bugs that constructed this bug that was centered in the image. From my point of view this obscure images seem to be related to a bird, who is a natural enemy of bugs. Making the “bug bird” an important aspect of the ecosystem. In Jo’s piece she captures this idea of showing that bugs are an important aspect of everybody’s lives. Those are the things that work together making sure of the differences that there exist in the world and the connections that people make of our ecosystem. The idea of organization is viewed overall as the way of how the bugs are ordered as well as our ecosystem.                  

            One of downs of the projects is the distraction of the glue and the color paper used. They distracted and grabbed a lot of attention due to the dirtiness of the paper, and the wrinkles. The other thing that seems to be distracting is the center image, it focus a lot of my attention. The organizations of the other two seem to be distracted by this image in the center. One thing that could had work a little better is the idea of using the number of bugs. Although, collecting and doing the tedious task of organizing bugs and gluing them, the artist shows the differences of that kind of bug exist. It could have worked  better if there was continuity outside of the frame allowing people to realize that there are myriad of bugs that exist apart the ones that she has organize. The frame limits this effect of making the audience realize that there exist a myriad of bugs than just the title itself suggest. One thing that made the piece interesting is that some bugs had wings, while there were others did not. An interesting thing about this project is that people could be touched, but there is no hint that suggests this.

            Overall I am pleased of how crafted this project was, and how precise everything had to be. Making me think that each bug is unique and everyone has their own purpose in life, and this project has shown this. By the way the artist signals the differences between the bugs, and how there exist things that people are not aware of, that are important. 

By: Armando Patricio

Clint Williamson's Kill Joy

In Clint Williamson’s sound piece Kill Joy, a continuous loop of harmonizing tonalities creates a tranquil atmosphere which, compared to his other work, is far easier to listen to. Yet, the subtle sounds betray the initial calmness of the piece and begin to lead the listener into and infuriating series of mind games. It is almost as if his piece is lulling the listener into a false sense of security. At first the notes seem nonthreatening enough, the calm tones and easy melody allow the listener to engage easily with the piece. Yet at the end of the sixty seconds of harmonies comes a noticeable break, an imperfection in the quality of cassette, a consistent reminder of the “the materiality of the object creating the sound and the time the listener has spent engaging with the work.” Although I am not quite sure how the piece was made, Clint describes in his paragraph that “returning in this work to the guitar, I layer multiple tonalities of loops across three octaves...Kill Joy creates a tranquil atmosphere which provides the listener with the ability to clearly discern every note and drift.”
The piece is both mesmerizing and infuriating; as the imperfections of the loop interrupt the tranquil harmonies the listener is again reminded of the sixty seconds that she has spent listening to the same basic notes. The longer the piece is played the more it becomes about the lack of sound. The piece becomes no longer about the harmony or tonalities but it instead is driven by the lack of tone, the imperfections in the cassette, the breakup of perfection, the physicality of an outdated object.
In general I am not very familiar with many sound artists but in listening to Kill Joy I am consistently reminded of the experience of listening to CDs of nature sounds, which are produced to create a calming and tranquil experience but the more they are thoughtfully listened to, the more they begin to annoy and break down the listener. It is not until the third or fourth loop that the tranquil tonalities of Kill Joy begin to grate on the listening experience. Infiltrating the mind and forcing both a disgust and an unavoidable attraction. I view this piece as a subtle form of mocking; every time the click of the cassette is heard I would begin to anxiously await the next sixty seconds when it would be produced again. What was supposed to be calming was therefore grating, it was irrelevant noise, a barrier to get to the breaking of the cassette. I thought this piece was very successful. I found that even though it had elements that were maddening the more that I listened to it the more I wanted to continue the experience. Writing this piece now also makes me want to listen to it which itself brings up interesting ideas on how to distribute a work that is impinged on the physicality of a cassette in an environment that greatly values the digital.

-betsy wright

Nic Wilson's Dont Tread On Me

Nic Wilson’s print Dont Treat On Me is a (20’’X28’’) three-layer screen print. It consists of white text on a red ground, which reads DONT TREAD ON ME, and eventually disintegrates into clouds of static, patterned texture. The text appears again closer to the bottom of the page, around the point where the red layer intersects a blue checkerboard patterned plane, placed in perspective. The entire page is bordered with a black and white pattern that resembles QR barcodes or a pattern from the inside of security envelopes. The tabbed white edge between the bottom of the checker-board and the bottom section of the border further suggest an envelope, or an encasement. Finally, there is an image of a compact disc that has been [digitally] rendered into a bitmapped image (value gradation established by density of small dots) and distorted into an amebic blue form near the top of the composition.

The most primary visual/formal part of the work is pattern. The abstract, non-representational forms whose patterned arrangements render legible forms (in the case of the checkerboard and the CD) are placed in direct contrast with bold text, which conveys meaning abstractly (through language) rather than representationally/pictorially. These components are juxtaposed, however, they are both pertinent forms, patterns and marks that convey and reference external meanings, either as visual icons or textual phrases.

There are obvious aesthetic, practical and conceptual connections to make between this piece and ‘net.art’. This connects the piece to digital culture, which here, is visually denoted by seemingly generic stock images (like the CD and checkerboard), rendering techniques, patterns and textures. In referencing and simultaneously alienating the viewer from digital modes of expression, both textually and visually, the print speaks to the intricacy of common, familiar terms, phrases, and ideologies.

“Dont tread on me” is sourced from a flag that originates from the American Revolutionary War and which is traditionally associated with the US Navy. Since, the phrase has become important to the contemporary “Tea Party movement”. This conceptual, ideological and political can of worms is reflected in the experience of attempting to “read” the print and its content. The text is repeated in a pattern that is in one moment legible, and in another totally alien. Each word in the phrase “dont tread on me” is repeated on horizontal lines. If you read the text line by line, it would read, “dont dont dont, tread tread tread tread” etc. But the eye intuitively reads the full phrase in the blocks of text where the sentence is in the right order. In fact, I read “Dont Tread On Me” first, and only later realized the way the text was organized. This reflects the seeming contradiction between the familiarity of this phrase and its multiple applications and interpretations. The sensation of the visual switch (from reading the full phrase to noticing its repetitive placement along horizontal lines) is alienating and disorienting. Combined with the ideological baggage of the phrase, there is a strong suggestion of ambiguity and complexity in its content and meaning, both within this piece and in general. This use of loaded linguistic terms and contrasting formal elements is somewhat reminiscent of Mel Bochner's use of textual content. Legible, comprehensible and meaningful words and phrases take on an ambiguous form in visual art. There is a tension between terms that hold many meanings and terms that become meaningless.

- Dani R

Skull - Amy Tsui

In Amy Tsui’s pencil sketch work, she draws a huge skull with very detailed facial structure contour on a 30’’×40’’ white paper. This work shows an interest in the concept of structure and formation.

The work is constituted by a basic outline of the skull and a large number of contour lines which are well organized in depicting the ups and downs of the face. The development of these contour lines produces a certain visual movement that it may catch the viewers’ eyes to focus on the whole formation of the skull and to track on its structure. Also, the curving of the lines suggests a facial space which is not just flatly depicted but more three dimensionally developed. This visual space looks even more outstanding to the viewers with the depth of the hollow eyes. Amy’s careful use of thinner and denser lines for the right eyes of the skull leads to a relatively lightness of this area. Such lightness works very well with the hollowness of the skull’s eyes and generates a strong unevenness of the face. Therefore, the depth of the eye is perfectly expressed. However, this visual effect is not used on the left eye and the same density of the lines makes the left eye less distinctive from the rest part of the face, where the viewers may feel a little bit unbalanced for the two eyes because of the asymmetry.

Unlike a digitally produced three dimensional contour work, the use of pencil makes the lines soft and not as smooth as the digital one. These lines make the contoured face look like a flexible net covering the skull. With the extending lines on the forehead, the incompleteness of the lines’ covering leads to the viewer’s notice of how this structure of the face interacts with the whole object in the picture. Along with the minimal and systematic use of black and white lines, there are very limited shades and values on the skull, while it still retains an effective three dimensional looking for the viewers. At the same time, because of the simple method of drawing the skull, the viewers are more attracted and focused on the complexity of the line structure, which is also the artist want the viewers to see.

The skull as a symbol of death, however, is an important part of human body. It shows a primary condition of human and also a relationship between the formation and the ending. The structure of the skull suggests a pure interest in the reason for human death and how death is necessary as part of human life. However, the contour lines of skull face only shows a visual structure to the viewers that this structure doesn’t directly suggest any specific content of the work. Therefore, the content of this work is relatively less distinctive because the artist is more focused on formal and technical part of this work.

In conclusion, Amy Tsui’s pencil work is a very successful visual experiment and the detailed and careful drawing on the large scale paper is even more impressive.

-Mengyu

Clint Williamson on Vadim Fainberg's Timbre

http://cargocollective.com/vadimfainberg#2366851/Timbre

The Sound of the Print

The record is not dead. Within the last decade, the resurgence of vinyl record sales exists as an anomaly within the music industry, especially considering that sales of both compact discs and digital files have severely declined. The rise of free, easily-accessible digital media has shifted the fiscal market for sound artists; however, .an opposition to these digital files has arisen and created a demand for a tangible product, something which one can experience physically, immediately, and intimately. Similarly, the demand for an auditory live experience has increased and the presentation of audio works (along with vinyl record sales) has become how the vast majority of sound artists remain financially stable. In his Timbre series of record prints, Fainberg changes the notion of vinyl as the only source for a record. Using wood block prints, Fainberg layers a print multiple times, heavily coating the paper in thick layers of ink in order to emphasize the physicality of the work by building up textures. While heavily layering ink and paint upon a work is not a new idea (French artists working post World-War II come to mind), what Fainberg does with this print once finished is where his ideation becomes entirely new. Cutting 12” circles out of these thick layered prints, Fainberg essentially presses records—records which do not possess grooves to encode the sound. All of the sound of Fainberg’s print records comes from the immediate connection between the rotating needle on the record player, the processing (digital or analog) run through the output, and the settings on the output device (in the case of his 12/06/11 performance, two Peavey and two Crate speakers). Upon playing the record, Fainberg can place the 12” print back into the larger print he cut it from; returning the work to its jacket, a work of art typically associated with the gallery space and not the milk-crate record bin.

With this work, Fainberg woks within the legacy of experimental audio producers such as John Cage, Brian Eno, and Thurston Moore—pushing the boundaries of their instrument (Fainberg’s record player in this instance) in order to explore new territory of sound and sound production. Fainberg subverts the notion that a record contains the past, merely traces left of a previous event; the print record has no audio history, merely a visual history which he crafts by layering the ink upon the canvas. These works operate as transitory medium in which the visual and textural translates into the auditory. In other words, the visual constructs the audio experience via its physical translation into a sound. Because this process stands as such a novel conception, Fainberg has not fully explored what the experience of this translation can mean (i.e. the actual sounds produced by the print record). If the audio actually emitting from the process were crafted into particular pieces or compositions, Fainberg’s work would no longer be just a conceptual success; however, as of now, the print records produce fairly similar, unremarkable drones which seem almost flat. Ironic considering the texture of the record produces the sound. Fainberg has created a series of works which manage to reappropriate the record for an entirely different means while simultaneously annotating and assimilating it with a high-art, visual production. Fainberg, very early in the process, further proves that the record is not dead.

681 - Jo Murray

681

Jo Murray’s piece—appropriately titled 681 because of the 681 ladybugs that have been glued side by side, organized by size, shape, color and dot intensity—is at once both a documentation of the sheer mass and variety of bugs that have piled up in the art studios of Bucksbaum, and a palpably visceral experience between the viewer and the 681 ladybugs.

The insects are organized in three separate arrangements, in minimalist forms. The central piece, a line stretching from one side of the board to the other, a single ladybug tall, is arguably the most successful. By arranging the ladybugs side by side without layering them or clumping them together, the number of ladybugs is clearly visible and the number of bugs is quickly comprehended. The other linear piece is similar, but it up to four ladybugs deep in some places.

Both these forms’ simple, minimalist arrangements are aesthetically pleasing and allow the viewer to move past the overall pattern to look closely at the ladybugs themselves. Because so much of the process of making the piece was about collecting, sorting through, and organizing the ladybugs by their different characteristics, the simpler arrangements allow the viewer to understand the groupings.

Using a completely different pattern, the third (top) piece distracts from the ladybugs. The vagueness of the ladybug shape resists being easily read and therefore inhibits closer viewing. Despite this, the three pieces still form a cohesive whole and meticulously catalog the bugs. Extended wings in one area and darker spots in another hint at the creation process and underlying organization.

Encased in clear plastic, the ladybugs can be experienced through touch as well. The tactile sensation of running your hand along the long lines of ladybugs is the same as actually feeling the bugs themselves, despite the layer of plastic separating them from you. Therefore, this creates an unsettling sensation of touching hundreds of insects, which triggered a feeling of disgust and revulsion for me, even though I’m not afraid of bugs.

The piece 681 is a work about recycling and reworking that which would normally be disregarded and thrown out. By recycling hundreds of dead ladybugs, art is created from something we would normally associate with trash. Moreover, 681 forces us to look carefully at the insects in the same way we do most other art, and thus exposes their own aesthetic beauty. We can distance ourselves from our insectophobia to appreciate their shimmering shells and the variance in color and dot pattern.

It also deals with time and the accumulation of objects in our lives, whether they’re desirable objects or not. The unwanted ladybugs nevertheless pile up around us as a metaphor for the way material objects often accumulate in our lives without us meaning them to. The process of reworking the bugs into art is an example of how interesting our surroundings often our, although we may not realize it.

The themes of repetition and accumulation remind me of some of Yayoi Kusama’s “obsessive art,” which is often covered by polka dots and uses repetition to talk about insanity. The seemingly obsessive acts of collecting and arranging insects are purposeful—they are arranged in horizontal lines, instead of swept together in a dusty clump.

The ladybugs have been handled and examined closely by the artist, and the narrative of that process becomes part of the story of the art. This then involves the viewer in the artist’s fascination with the insect world, and gives us a glimpse at an abnormal process, which becomes very interesting, especially as it was created as art for display, whereas a lot of obsessive, outsider art is only discovered posthumously. This obsessive organization of something we wouldn’t normally pay attention to fits with ideas of the mundane and neglected being portrayed in art. Through the piece, we’re ultimately allowed to take a closer look at what we value and why we react to the insects in the way we do.

--Christopher Squier

Phoebe Currier's Jack Nickelson.

In Jack Nicholson's portrait, Phoebe used charcoal on a white canvas. This drawing reflects a deep study of the human face features as well expressions. Knowing that charcoal portraits are not easy at all, my first impression of this portrait was positive. Overall, the drawing looks very realistic and is executed in a detailed manner that shows well the three dimensional form. It is a highly stylized black and white portrait.

The lighting and the extreme contrast between white and black reveal the features of the face. The highly graphical outlines of the face convey a sense of rigidness and voidness of life and emotion. In contrast, the curvy lines of the lip, cheeks and the eyes are full of life and energy that overcomes the idea of lifelessness. Despite the variety of lines incorporated, the surface is unified and harmonious, mainly because balancing black and white colors is achieved. There are many details that demonstrate the three dimensional quality of the piece; the fine texture of the hair, as well as the symmetry of the face. In addition, in some places, we see scars and deep lines that suggest facial wrinkles.

 In terms of composition, I think it is working really well. The fact that the background is left white helps reduce distractions and draw attention to the portrait itself. Interestingly, for me, the focal point of this piece is the entire face. The detailed eyes, mouth and hair draw my attention back and forth, that I cannot decide which part stands out the most. Proportion wise, I have the sense that the face might be a little too broad, but this could be attributed to the fact that the piece is on a big scale. On a different not, the shadows could be pushed a little bit further to accentuate the depth of the forms and add volume to the piece. However, the shadows employed are enough to make the image look vivid. I also wish if more tones were added to the cheeks and forehead area to emphasize depth.

Overall, I think this is compositionally and contextually a successful portrait especially that the figure drawn is recognizable, and the likeness is striking.