Art, PLEASE

(via where-the-light-is, icanread)

This is great.

So, things got interesting last night on Bravo TV’s Work Of Art. A team challenge. Team challenges always go awry at some point, and personalities and conflicts intensify. I’ve got mixed feelings about a team art project - how often do they really happen in real life outside of a sought-after collaboration? Even Jean Claude had to sue Christo at one point to get the recognition she deserved as a partner in his work.

I don’t think it mattered which team the artists and Erik were placed in; they were all screwed. Erik would always be the odd man out because he has such disdain for all his fellow competitors. After the second time he said something snarky about ‘art school educations’ I would have punched him in his untrained face. Erik, if you have so much hatred towards artists, why do you want to become one?!?!? I’m surprised Erik doesn’t have scoliosis because of that huge chip on his shoulder. I could go on and on. And on.

So, the teams were picked for an outdoor challenge “Open to the Public”

This is going to be a disaster. I was trembling with excitement having seen the previews of Erik being a jerk.

As I said, I don’t think it mattered who was on which team, everyone is about the same level, with the exception of Miles. (Who Erik thought was an actor for some reason….maybe it’s because he actually knows stuff about art? So, actor or not, he’s much more talented in conception and execution than Erik will ever be.)

The two teams immediately started talking about their ideas and my ears pricked up when Miles started to describe his idea. Miles’ idea was oddly a description of the style of my favorite James Turrell.

Erik wanted to include vines on the piece. Like it was a trellis for his tomatoes or something. Sure, some outdoor works include plants, etc, but for this piece vines would have really pushed it to the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse/fort realm. 

The result for Miles’ team was pretty interesting, but not as interesting as the insecurity filled rants from Erik throughout the challenge with his ‘I want to be heard, but I don’t want to participate’ approach. Mix in some derogatory remarks about people in art school, etc.  I would have kicked him out of the group and dealt with the consequences later - up to this point the three were working pretty well together, even Jackie wasn’t as bad (interestingly, she graduated from MICA in 2007.)

The end result was pretty cool, and I think fit into the surroundings nicely (if you noticed the greenery/boxes in the background.) I like how Bill Powers noticed the smell of cedar and beeswax as a curious side effect of the work. I like smells. It DOES seem a bit awkward to get into, and while a piece of public work is meant to be interacted with by many people, this was really a work built for two or three. I wouldn’t wait to get into it. I wasn’t really sure if the judges, specifically Jerry Salt, was happy that it faced the World Trade Center empty space or not. 

The winning piece seemed like a nod to some of the minimalist sculpture of Robert Morris (like his piece at the National Gallery) or even Martin Puryear (love.) Like Simon, I thought the large piece was interesting, but the smaller pieces were not so great and based on how soupy their plaster appeared, would probably crumble at any moment. They will be stepped on like they were rocks, and wouldn’t last but a day. Max.

I felt the color choice for the main piece was too cold and institutional and not very inviting. Would have been a bit more interesting if each side were covered in mirror to actually bring the sky down to the ground - I think they even alluded to their desire to do something like that, but I could be mistaken. It also bugs me that you can see under the piece as if it were resting on the gravel, not an integral part of it. I know they covered it with some sort of resin, but I would be worried about splinters. (on both pieces really)

In the end, the minimalist piece won, but I think only so that they could get rid of Erik. Even on Bill Powers’ blog he said that Miles’ team should have won.

Also, not shown on tv, but mentioned on Bill Powers’ blog was that above this space was a billboard piece by Felix Gonzales Torres. Look him up on google images…

this is the stuff that inspires me.

paulettepalacios:

“Herbal” 2010, CMYK Process Screenprint with interference gold powder

Final of this print. :)

Nice work Paulette….

So, the other day Andy thought it would be fun to have our own Work of Art type friendly challenge. Since I have to be working on art while down here in Naples for third-year CORE, I thought it would be fun. I had already been getting creatively motivated while watching the show anyway, so why not. Andy is a great artist and I am really excited to be challenged by someone who I feel is creatively brilliant. 

Andy thought a book cover challenge would be a great first start. I accept your challenge Mr. Martin. 

He chose a classic book for me to do - 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by probably the most famous Sci-Fi writers (and perhaps the creator of the genre) Jules Verne. I love the time period that this was written, and it was a favorite Disney ride as well.

For Andy, I chose Orwell’s 1984. Knowing Andy a bit made me think he would do something pretty amazing with this title.

I believe both of us are currently re-reading these classic texts so that we can do the challenge justice. I think that was one of the problems with the Work of Art Challenge because, sadly, not many of the artists were familiar with the stories they were creating for (besides just the titles of course…) Only Miles was able to work re-reading the story of Frankenstein into his time management. 

Time management is very important to me when creating work because there will always be times when I have to create something, for school or a show, that requires a strict schedule to make the deadline. There are just too many instances that I have witnessed rushed (bad) work because not enough thought was put into project management or a schedule to get something done. I definitely have an advantage because of my 15 years doing project management client work and having deadlines that had to be met or a client would be unhappy with me. A client will ALWAYS know when something was created the night before, so will my instructors.

So, i’ve started to re-read 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea so that perhaps I can find something interesting to focus on in making a book cover.  I’ll share thoughts and ideas on this blog, and of course with Andy’s permission will share the final result.

Care to join us in this challenge? let me know and we’ll pick a book for YOU to do!

Well, first….that would be one fucked up child. But, Nao certainly struck out on Work of Art last night. Errr…I’m sorry her “work didn’t work for the judges” (I hate Bravo TV show tag lines - there’s only one: MAKE IT WORK)

For the ‘Shocking’ episode - some interesting things were made, but I feel it’s a bit contrived to make something ‘shocking’ just for shock’s sake and as an actual task. And, so it must have been hard for the artists on the show to complete this project without missing the mark because you have to think about the viewer and what would shock. It’s only natural that you immediately go to religion or poop or cum as your material to work with. Obviously, some artists (like Serrano) make some rather shocking pieces, but I don’t think their only driving force is to shock. 

I think that Jamie Lynn missed the mark a bit on her comments about the photo and it’s meaning (but at least she KNEW what it was….tsk tsk for Abdi to have never seen this work, but my tirade about artists and art students not studying art history more is another topic entirely)  At any rate, here’s a great article on Serrano’s Piss Christ:

http://dlibrary.acu.edu.au/staffhome/dacasey/Serrano.html

But….back to the show. Nao. Oh Nao. I thought your piece was pretty cool, but you had no clue what it was about. I wish the show made the artists provide an artist statement, so they could at least bullshit (pun intended) their way around their work. In this case, she thought she had an idea with that masonite and when she realized that she didn’t have much to build upon she wanted to do her performance and just threw on her Utrecht bag and some poop substitute. What was shocking?

If you are wanting to channel McCarthy, then cover yourself in poop and hug everyone in attendance….or make something like this: 

Imagine coming across THAT in the dog park!

For different reasons, I don’t think Abdi’s piece was that great either. Conceptually, I really liked what his message was but he fell victim to time management and a slow process by creating a mold and creating the heads in wax. (i think on the show he didn’t even start pouring the wax until, like, an hour before he was supposed to be finished! 

In our crits at the Corcoran, we generally hone right in on craft and great concepts will be lost if some hot glue is showing (sorry Sean W.), or there are TYPOS, or the presentation destroys the piece, etc. 

Why three? Wouldn’t it have been just as powerful if there were only one, and one missing but evidence of it’s existence? The one on the far right looks like he took it out of the mold too quickly and it started to sag. He should have edited that one out - did he keep it just so that there were three? (don’t get me wrong…mold making can be difficult and I applaud the risk he took) Like my friend Andy and I were texting during the show, why not mention African ritual shrunken heads or the connotations that would bring to the piece which would tip it to the uncomfortable side. But, again, why THREE? 

I think the judges only liked it because they themselves were able to fill in some of the conceptual gaps and the further meaning behind the piece - strengthening it overall….

John….helloooooo spell check. Some of the text was blurred (along with the dick) So I couldn’t read it during the show.

It doesn’t look like he’s trying to suck his own dick, it looks more like he’s trying to use the head of his cock to put in a contact lens. While both acts are tricky, neither are that shocking in this day and age.

Typo aside, I think the judge was right in saying to be more shocking he should have taken a photo of himself attempting this. OR, better yet, just the text. If  you read it, is enough to paint an pretty interesting mental image. While at school during our crits we are discouraged from ‘offering advice’ or solving other people’s craft problems….how much more powerful would this have been if he had a confessional booth and a small prayer card with the instructions written on it so that YOU could give it a try yourself. (and haven’t we all?)

Oh Miles….this was brilliant. You managed to force a tv show to include two concrete buttholes. 

great piece, better as a performance piece during the ‘gallery opening’

 

My first thought was….oh great, aNOTHER reality show attempt by Bravo. I resisted watching at first, but then I watched the first episode and was intrigued. I feel they ‘cast’ some very talented and diverse artists (Miles is my favorite). I like the concept of this show, because we all see and react to art on a regular basis. 

John and I have recently caught up with the episodes we missed and eagerly await the next. I’m glad this show is on during the summer when I have a lot of my own art I need to work on as part of CORE next year. 

It’s made me think how I - as an artist - would approach these tasks and what I would do or not do. Seeing these artists and their processes is encouraging to me because it helps me to understand some aspects of my own work that I continue to struggle with - and I’ve identified artists on the show that i know I can learn from. 

The recent episode about designing book covers was an ok task but I think a little too straightforward or ‘easy.’ It would be hard for me to create a work for something that I wasn’t in some way interested in (the Pride and Prejudice book cover for example.) I think they really should have done something more along the lines of a sculptural book or using books to create a piece that has the subject of the book. 

It’s funny to me that at first John and I thought Judith’s exit and her last words were very ‘sour grapes’ - but in thinking about it, I completely agree. She, as an artist, may never be interested in doing commercial work and so couldn’t really ‘get into it’ and be successful on the show. (so, why go on the show?) But it’s something that artists must face and think about - how do you create the art YOU want to create that is true to yourself, and when do you create a piece that is purely for commercial purposes or commissioned?