Final project: site-based conceptual.

Now, when I was starting this project I was emailed a list of questions to ponder over while I worked on it.
I looked at the list once then promptly forgot about it forever, remembering only that this was to be site-based, or site-specific.
So instead, I just sat and pondered things in general. In this case, the situation of over-commercialization and advertising in our everyday lives. We have grown up in a society that advertises everything, to ridiculous measures. It is not uncommon to see dozens, if not hundreds, of advertisements simply driving down the street to the grocer's, let alone those that constantly bombard us within our own homes! Within this chaotic maelstrom of clamoring, raucous advertisements and being constantly crowded with people and shops attempting to sell their services, it is far too easy for one to lose sight of things that are truly more important in this world, or even to them personally, and focus entirely on the attainment and expenditure of what has come to be the new diety of american culture: money.
We see these advertisements everywhere: pasted on walls, benches, and even floors at times, upon great signs and billboards that obstruct our view of nature, and we even wear it upon ourselves, on almost every article of clothing. It would not be surprising if companies started placing their logos on trees, just to make sure we don't forget they exist.
This chaotic mess of commercial advertising not only makes it hard for one to sit and think about themselves and their role in society and among friends, but it makes it even more difficult for one to promote their own services, as well! Because the only way they could get the attention they need to ply their trade is to not only envelop themselves in that whirlwind of noise and commercialism, but to embrace it.
Modern advertising has, at it's best, become crass and unintelligent, imposing and commanding, and even at times so muddled and confusing that you cannot even tell what it is they are trying to say about their product!
In all of this, it remains easier than ever for a person to become completely blind to any needs outside of money, often resulting in a spiritual, emotional, and mental deprivation.

I attempted to allude to these thoughts with a small collection of photographs taken, using a small accumulation of business cards people have handed me over the past few weeks (and you would be surprised how many people like to give out duplicates so you can tell all your friends).

Project notes and Self-Eval 4/18

Well, I finished my site-based project, and it really did turn out fantastic. I only wish I had remembered to bring my own camera's battery, so that I could have some pictures of before AND after we worked, maybe with even a little bit of during work in there.
In any case, it really was a fantastic experience.

We cleared all the larger rocks and dead matter out of the stream in front of the large rock. My first intent was to create something calm and peaceful, but as we removed more of the dead blockage and started opening up the current, the place started to get a wonderful feeling of energy to it. using all those large rocks we excavated from the stream, we lined the sides of the stream bed with them, creating a very low, small rock wall, about waist height at some points.
We dusted off and cleaned away some of the dead matter on the large rock, making a large space a person could easily sit on (and quite comfortably, too), and overlook this small clean portion of stream. Since the current and flow increased, it swept away the majority of sand and muddy water that was clouding up the clear stream, revealing a bed of beautiful pebbles that carpeted the bottom. using some of these small pebble I made a design on the rock - I'm honestly not sure why, it just seemed like a nice thing to do. And using some of the smaller, flatter rocks from the earlier clearing out, I lined one of the rock walls with a continuous connected chain of these stones, both as a design element and as a small metaphor for something I learned during this: every part of nature is connected some way, even it its just a few rocks in a stream. Moving just one rock might alter the current in a manner significant enough to reveal other rocks hidden within the sand, or even small creatures that would then scurry off to parts unknown.
I also wish I had a camera I could take film with, you need to hear this stream as much as see it to really appreciate how wonderful it is, but I don't.
I do have quite a few pictures to post though, so I really hope they can help show how nice it turned out:

4/11 Reading notes: Skip Schukmann (and project notes for site-based project)

Reading about Skip Schukmann, I am instantly interested in his desire to, instead of creating large, expansive, and generalized works of art, teach an individual one-on-one how to enjoy the plain comforts and pleasures of the natural world, while helping them to form their own ideas into concrete areas like gardens or even a guesthouse made of various materials left over from a previous excavation. I love his attitude that even complicated, finished creations can be seen as raw material for future incarnations, much like just about anything in nature. His method with working just SOUNDS so right, I would love to learn myself how to do some of it. Hell, just moving around some rocks in the stream at Reedy Creek Park in preparation for my project left me with a great feeling, much like spending time with your best friend, or just one of the most relaxing days ever (and all this in light of the fact I got my pinky smashed between some rocks). I love his idea of taking EVERYTHING about an area into account: winds, types of soil and where they lay, weather and rain and even existing constructions, shadows, and inhabitants! And all while using as little fabricated material as possible - none, if he can help it!
I also love how he doesn't entertain the same notion that art and architecture should exist indefinitely in the same form it was left in the last time the artist touched it: like it was some sort of museum piece? That doesn't feel like art at all! The art of Schukmann is as much his creation of these buildings, these manifestations of natural beauty brought forth from bare earth and stone and wood, as in the way they, like all things in nature, change over time and the varying pressures of the world! THAT's real art: Art that never means the same thing twice! Is it something he is likely to be remembered forever in the history books for? No, but it IS something that he will be remembered for in the hearts of every person he has worked with. He isn't just shaping clay and stone, he's shaping the lives of the people around him as well. Another aspect I love is how he doesn't start with any one set idea in his mind. I work much similarly: oh, sure I'll have some idea at first, but as I work with the material and learn what it likes to do and refuses to do, or even depending on the mood I'm in or how the atmosphere of a place is, the work will change, sometimes only slight deviations, but often going in directions I never originally imagined! And so often these works are the ones I feel the most fulfilled about: ones that either burst forth from a spontaneous thought, or slowly grew from just a niggling idea, but they always turn into something new and exciting at the end.
But something that really makes me think is how he states that he doesn't create to convey an image or idea: he does it just for the sake of cutting/digging/planting in it's own right. And that I think might be the most profound thing I've heard in a long time (I know, it sounds silly but that's what I think).
I must admit I think I might be a fan of this guy. He's freakin' awesome.
Also, I like his new terms and made-up words, like Protocolic - "The discomfort that ensues from excessive politeness."
FINALLY, someone found a word for that...


Project notes!
For my project scoping out, I went off the trail in Reedy Creek Park, mostly because I didn't give a rats ass about the nice trails and manicured foliage; I REALLY wanted to see the creek as it was!
Turns out I didn't have to look far at all.
Just out of sight near a trail (I can't believe no one ever looked down there, it's beautiful) the creek goes down a small waterfall of rocks, making a beautiful noise with the splashing water andvarious wildlife nearby. And just a little bit downstream of that is a Big Ol' Rock! What makes this rock so great is that being so big and old and rock-like, it is a perfect perch to sit on as it overlooks the creek, and the sight is just so beautiful. Further down the creek I found another area I loved - because it was ABSOLUTELY SILENT. So I thought I might try to create just a tiny bit of peace other people might be able to enjoy. I plan on using natural rocks from the stream to create an almost sculptural aspect to that waterfall, and downstream of it, up to the BOR (big ol rock) I plan on moving all of the stones out of way of the current, or laying them down a little bit flatter. The goal is to avoid disturbing the flow of the current, while creating an area of stream that is as silent and peaceful as possible! I have already enlisted the aid of one of my larger, more muscled pals to assist me with his prodigious skills at moving large rocks.

Project Self-Critique - group project

I meant to do this yesterday, but in any case I'm going to be doing a review on the group project I was in. Our final project was a lineup of 5 black silhouettes marked with racial labels, with instructions on the side and a banner below that contained a quote (that I unfortunately don't remember very well. It got stolen, too!). We had originally only put a very small amount of racist stereotypes on the silhouettes, which in turn prompted people to write their own thoughts and ideas. We actually got quite an impressive response - I honestly didn't think so many people would have responded over the weekend, mainly due to the lack of classes. But people responded, and quite wonderfully! We had a few written responses that said some negative things, but for the most part there was an overwhelming desire for people to list the positives of the races, not to list stereotypes and negativity!
If there was one thing we could have done better, it would be to have both protected it from the rain, and to have had it up even longer than two days. I can't even begin to think about how many people may or may not have responded if we had left it up for over a week - the results would have been fantastic!

Daily notes for march 15 and 17, and project notes for current project

Well, this week we've mostly been just working on your next project.
Monday we discussed the two artists our reading notes were done on... reading I have to go do right now, actually. But afterwards we spent the time in our project groups, working more on our ideas for our next project. This is also what we did for the entirety of today (wednesday), so there really isn't much more to report.

As for the project:
We're to do a political piece on a subject determined by group. I was originally with the group that was going to do Environment, but we broke up because we couldn't think of any decent ideas (or agree on any, in any case). So now I'm in the group that's covering "judgement" as in stereotyping and judging others before you really know who they are. The idea they have is to take five paper silhouettes and attach them to a wall on the outer perimeter of Rowe and label each a different race (like White, Asian, Black, etc.). In addition I think (but I'm not sure) that they're going to write beneath the racial labels lists of stereotypes for each (like under White they might have "redneck", "hillbilly", etc.) and beside the entire lineup have a poster of some sort requesting passing students to "fix" the labels - to correct the stereotyped ideas, to draw, graffiti, or write their thoughts and feelings about the various discriminations.
Hopefully we'll be able to actually get a few people to write on it; the worst that could happen is if it gets completely ignored, but we can still use that in our presentation I suppose.
We have to get the silhouettes up by friday so there is some time before the due date for them to accumulate responses.

March 3 daily notes

It seems I forgot last week's notes.
Well I need to not let that happen again...

This week I got my next project assignment: a group project to create a piece that's political in nature. Unfortunately I was absent last wednesday but luckily nothing important happened in that time. We watched some videos on people who have created politically charged works, such as Cai Guo-Qiang, an artist who works with gunpowder for his artwork, and who enjoys the uncontrollable nature of the medium. another artist we looked at was Krysztof Wodiczka, who filmed people talking about crime, and how they were affected (such as people who lost their loved ones to violence, criminals telling their stories, people who were raped/abused/etc., and he projected them onto buildings in cities that were iconic for the area, and included a speaker setup to allow everyone to hear their stories being told.

Another Artist we looked at was the one who created the Vietnam Memorial, and the story of how the piece was hotly contested and how she had to fight to get it created as per her idea. I had never realized that the creation of that monument was so controversial, and It really helped me get an idea of the sort of forces that often support and contest political works, especially ones that do not glorify an idea or concept such as war or patriotism.

We formed groups and my group is going to be working with an idea for Environment. Perhaps something to do with recycling, perhaps something to do with the way we live nowadays... we don't really have any ideas yet.

Project 2 Self-Critique

Today we presented our second projects for critiquing (but you wouldn't know that since I had accidentally neglected my project notes) and I believe that the critique as a whole went very well.

Our projects were wearable creations based on the idea of consumption. some people brought in such things as "a designer feed-bag", a mask meant to mimic the wind turbines used for energy production, or a top hat made of bacon (seriously.)

Mine wasn't so very impressive, though it was RATHER LARGE. I had scrounged through my closet and located an old and falling apart portfolio folder full of my newsprint and practice drawings from art classes I took two years ago, then scotch-taped them into the form of a cape. Overall it was interesting to see: a large, fairly rigid cape that looked like an amalgamation of various artist's leavings, including some nude studies and one or two finished drawing works.

It symbolizes a few things: first, the rate at which art students consume paper and media. In my figure drawing and anatomy class alone, each student is expected to go through two large pads of 22x30 newsprint paper over the course of two months or so. Each pad has from 40-60 pages in it I think. There are twenty students in my class.
Over the course of one semester that will be around forty pads. Perhaps 1600 to 2400 pages of 22x30 paper. That is a LOT of tree, my friend. And that's not even regarding the textured, colored, and higher quality papers used for projects or drawing with other media. Artists 9except for perhaps digital artists) go through so much paper i can't even imagine how much all the classes in one single room would go through, much less all the classes in all the rooms, and hell even of rooms in other buildings, such as with the architectural students and graphic design students!
Funny thing is, there are tons of artists in these classes who will draw small on their newsprint papers or draw multiple figures on a single piece of paper in order to save, and the teachers will chide them and encourage them to draw larger, one per piece of paper! Yes, this method IS more effective for learning the arts, but it is also a prime example of how they burn through their materials sometimes. And usually they are left with newsprint drawings they couldn't really care less about. Most of them just get thrown away (at the very end of my piece I threw mine away after class. It wasn't really part of my presentation but it had occurred to me on the way home that it could have been.)

And second, artists are so often consumed by their desire to create, to progress, to achieve, that they rarely stop to look back on their old works and appreciate how far they've come. It is not unusual for an artist thus consumed with a desire to be famous to change the way he draws, conceives, presents, and discusses his art, just so that it will please the sensibilities and minds of critics and potential buyers. There are plenty of artists out there who think of it more as a commercial industry than as a spiritual pursuit or desire to express their ideas.
Some artists also become so consumed by the idea of being a skilled artist that they never consider the possibility of criticism or artistic block, two dangerous obstacles that once overcome show themselves to be not walls but doors onward: they just have to be opened first. The criticism or inability to create just crushes their initiative, I've seen it happen and it's a sad thing to see. They had been so consumed by the possibility of being great that they never prepared for defeat, and never learned how to handle it. I've seen many good artists stop drawing for reasons that would seem silly to anyone but them.

Unfortunately I do not have a picture of my project to provide: I threw it away after class. But the finished cape was a piece that rather commanded attention: long enough to drag on the ground when hung from my shoulders and wide enough (due to the rigidity of the paper+tape) to make moving through narrow doorways difficult, if not impossible, this piece certainly attracted attention (but probably not as much as the bacon hat). Unfortunately I believe most of the people were rather underwhelmed with it, aside from a laugh or two at it dragging on the ground or getting caught in a door. I'm certain they thought that since all I did was find old drawings and tape them together, it couldn't really be considered a particularly interesting piece or something. Well, that's too bad then!

As for what I could have done differently?
Seeing two of my classmates doing a large performance piece with their collaborative work, I feel now that I could have made my piece impact more strongly if I had attempted something such as performance with mine. I'm not entirely sure what I would say, but I would want to incorporate the cape being bestowed on them, much as in a knighting ceremony of sorts. This might help symbolize that while being an artist means you have freedom to do whatever you wish with your art, there are always things to be careful about, and they would need to steel themselves both mentally and emotionally before they venture into the art world.
(That sounds silly, like something from a videogame or fantasy novel, but I'm not really sure how else to say it. damn.)