studio notes

Islamic Wing at the Met.

2011-12-09T13:31:00.001-05:00

The weekend after my show opened and I was able to get more than 4 hours of sleep on consecutive nights, it was about time to get to the city. Kathryn and I decided to head up town to the Metropolitan Museum for the opening of the newly renovated Islamic Art wing. We were enthralled and exhausted by the collection. I'll let the photos speak for the experience.

The collection is so expansive that to view everything will require subsequent visits in the coming months. I can't wait.

Seven Hundred Thirty-Five

2011-12-02T11:57:00.001-05:00

Seven Hundred Thirty-Five, 2011, fabric, anthracite coal, earth, sod, pine, cable, 18 x 8 x 12 feet.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-25T13:06:00.001-05:00

By now I suppose my long absences have become some what expected and hopefully met with a modicum of understanding. One of the three major hurdles of the final MFA year is nearly over for me, my solo thesis exhibition, deinstall this weekend. In due time I will do my best to get caught up on goings-on, first I'd like to begin with the most important event: Thanksgiving.

Thank you dear friends and family, near and far, human and furry. Without you I'm not sure where I'd be. You make life so much more vibrant and joyful. Thank you.

Randel carving the turkey. "you haven't lived until you've had deep fired turkey."

Nina, Daryl, and Jose surveying the spread.

Harlow patiently waiting some turkey jumpers.

Strike a pose!

David and Joe, warming up from the great poultry fry.

Home

2011-10-17T11:47:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago I absconded back home for a bit. The time away from Long Island and the studio was well needed. Not to get too cheesy or emotional, I was able to gain enough energy from family and friends to get me through to my thesis show in November. Another really wonderful moment from home was finally sharing my current work with Dad. The basis of the work is directly related to him, his former profession in coal mining and all of the emotional, physical, and sociological ramifications of the industry.

Sophie Vader imploring me not to leave.

**Side note here is the DVE ( a Pittsburgh Radio Station) that is Sophie's namesake. Our kitty Otis, was named for, well, Otis in the skit, too.

Here are a few shots of some deer in the neighbor's yard. Kinda tough to spot them through the rain drops; there were six total roaming through the blueberry bushes looking for dinner. We like to think Sophie has a distant relationship to the deer...she has the snout and ears of a deer, also she likes to curl up like one just kicking it in the brush.

NIck Cave at Mary Boone and Jack Shainman Galleries

2011-10-16T13:04:00.000-04:00

Passport to the Playground. Joint exhibitions at Mary Boone and Jack Shainman.

The installation of the sound suits at Mary Boone was so densely layered that is was difficult to see each of them clearly. Of course there was a prized suit given its own little platform and space in the back office / gallery. My favorites of the groupings are the suits with figurines, toys, chandelairs, and fabrics brightly knitted; they feel so exuberant. Although, when the suits are worn and performed in, the ones constructed of a single material respond to the dancer's movement in a more spirited way.

A video series in four acts accompanied the installation at Jack Shainman Gallery. Here is a promo spot used for both galleries from YouTube.

Do Ho Suh at Lehmann Maupin Gallery

2011-10-16T12:51:00.000-04:00

Home Within a Home, Do Ho Suh at Lehmann Maupin.

This exhibition was an exhausting joy to see. Prior to my visit I hadn't seen any of Do Ho's work aside from some small sewn sculptures in person. Yikes, so much precision, engineering, humor, and a subtle sense of loss.

Fallen Star 1/5

There is a small model of a Singer sewing machine centering the Korean house.

Example of his sewn organza sculptures...several where in wall vitrines.

Home Within Home, prototype, made from photo sensitive resin.

Not sure exactly how this photo sensitive resin behaves under light, but I wouldn't be surprised if it slowly degrades. That would be damn clever.

In this piece the Korean home is centered within Do Ho's Providence, RI home.

Kathryn admiring the insanity and trying to figure out what and how the piece is made.

bird bee

2011-09-27T00:04:00.001-04:00

In my last post I mentioned the bird bee I was planning for the weekend and happily it came to fruition. We set to work about 4 Sunday afternoon and in a little under four hours we managed to get through seven (!!!) yards of fabric...and that time span included a pizza and beverage break.

For me, and I hope my birding colleagues agree, the hours and yards flew by. After putting on a bee of my own, I now understand why they are planned. Getting through the tedious, painstaking work is much easier and pleasant when you are in good company talking about art, goings-on in life, singing along to music, and cracking wise (Jose was on a roll with jokes that evening).

After going through all results of the bee the grand totals are:

78 complete birds +

31 bodies

18 bellies

and just a handful of desperate pieces without mates.

A BIG thank you to my dear friends for the help and good company. I hope your hands aren't too achy today. bird bee: redux is in the works.

Dan got kicked out of the table and was relegated to the pizza box.

Notice that bad-ass sign Dan whipped up in a jiffy and Jose's pro style cutting glove.

....I don't have words for this one.

The bird crew. Love them.

birds and bees

2011-09-21T10:46:00.006-04:00

Nothing much new to report. Elbow deep in canaries and still feeling like it might be an impossible task. I've planned a "bird bee" for some help this weekend with the tracing and cutting. This event will be similar to a quilting bee, when quilters get together and help one another quilt together the already completed top, bottom, and binding pieces. Bees also function as a social gathering, so I'm planning to also have a screening of Hitchcock's The Birds.

The idea of a bird bee and asking for help from friends was planted in my head by Kathryn and took me a few weeks to decide whether or not I was ok with relinquishing some of the work. As we get deeper into the semester and closer to my deadline, I had to concede and ask for help. And after much encouragement to plan the event, I'm starting to think about the community aspect of bees to a similar one that develops in tight knit industrial communities.

Knowing I'll be going home for a long weekend next week is the one thought that has been sustaining me these past few days. Can't wait.

Geekery

2011-09-12T23:07:00.002-04:00

The semester is upon us. But I had a nice reprieve from bird-making and school insanity over the weekend due to the wedding of my beautiful friends, Julianne and Jeremy at their farm in New Hampshire. The weekend and their wedding day were simply perfect. I can't think of a better way to spend September 10 and 11 than with sharing the love and joy of a wedding. No photos yet, Kathryn and I were asked to do the ceremony photo / video, so no images until they've been approved by the love birds.

So, on to the geekery. I've had a pretty expensive amazon wishlist growing over the summer and was finally able to purchase some of the books. Below you can see the titles from, as Kathryn calls it, "art nerd Christmas."

Another recently developed obsession: Instagram and Hipstamatic apps for the iPhone. Here are some Insta and Hipsta images from around the studio.

Sewing bird #200

Dan pillaged that "costume shop" sign for my studio. I already have a "conference room" plaque on the door (because everyone always walks in and hangs out) so the new sign is perched on my sewing machine.

Small victories

2011-09-04T00:21:00.000-04:00

This time last week we Irene was knocking on the door and a few hours later, holed up with winds howling, rain pelting, and without electricity. Returning from school on what was to be the first day of the semester but rendered cancelled from Miss Irene's visit, we found our electricity was restored a mere 36 hours later. And "a mere 36 hours later" is not meant to be sarcastic, there are folks a full week later still without power. Little victory.

We started the semester on Tuesday, teaching Tue. / Thurs. mornings, grad. printmaking and grad sculpture in the respective afternoons. Having my schedule cornered into only two days out of the week: little victory.

More than a month ago I started work on a big project that is planned to a significant piece for my thesis show; tracing, cutting, and sewing fabric birds. Hundreds of them. After dutifully working on them over the weeks, the work has reached monotony. This evening I was asked how many I've completed and the inquisitor said "hey, you've got nearly a quarter of them done." Thank god he did or I'd still be doubting the feasibility of the piece considering I've got just over two months until the show. Quarter of the birds done: Little victory.

Come on, Irene...

2011-08-27T16:49:00.004-04:00

As I write this post, Irene's upper arms are grazing Long Island but she is still dancing around the coast of North Carolina. we've finalized plans to stay at the house in Port Jeff. rather than stay at the studios in Stony Brook. Both locales have their pluses and minuses. At the house we are concerned about the wind and surrounding trees. The studios are in a one story building, therefore low to the ground, but on a downward slope and the roof is liable to leak. So we've gathered provisions and are staying put. We're taking advantage of having electricity by cooking, updating blogs / websites, and wrapping stuff up for the first days of classes that are scheduled to begin on Monday. I also brought my sewing machine and studio things to be working on while I can.

The track of the storm is right through Long Island, but the timing of it reaching us is still to be determined. We are anticipating tropical storm conditions around midnight into early Sunday morning, and hurricane winds later in the morning. Kathryn and I have been joking that this is one heck of a way to begin our last year in the MFA program. Prophetic?

Saturday morning I ran into the studio to do some last minute artwork protecting. I'm not expecting the building to have structural damage but I wouldn't be surprised if we get some water leaking through the roof. Drawings and prints came off the walls and into the flat files, sculptures, plaster, alginate off the floors, and the large drawings on canvas covered with plastic. I hope that all this proves to be unnecessary.

To all of those within the path of Irene, be safe.

Back to school shopping

2011-08-27T16:30:00.005-04:00

BFF

2011-08-21T00:42:00.003-04:00

Who's that on your lap Alisha?

"Idk my bff Miko."

I had the joy of kitteh sitting for the first part of August. Here though Miko was doing the sitting...flashing her best "get-that-damn-camera-outta-ma-face-and-pet-me" stare with a worried me looking on.

Geeking out

2011-08-20T23:57:00.003-04:00

Over the past week I've amassed several yards of authentically vintage and vintage-inspired fabrics for a new canary project. Considering the innumerable amount cutting I have to do for the piece, I invested in a new scissor. This scissor isn't your garden variety Fiskars, rather a gleaming chrome and gold plated 8 inch dressmaker's shear from Gingher...the Cadillac of cutting implements. I think they look quite stunning with my new fabrics. The scissor cuts through several layers of fabric and most likely fingers too, though I'm not willing to test that hypothesis.

Here is a full detail of my favorite vintage print I've come across. This small swath of fabric came from a collection of six other prints from Ebay. The purveyor of the prints sells end cuts from fabric bolts, so not enough to sell as a yard or even a quilter's fat quarter (quarter yard cuts). Sadly, I couldn't get as much out of this piece as I would have liked and will probably spend several insomnia-filled nights searching for another piece.

Oh, and the amount of cutting I have to do really isn't innumerable, I can do a quick calculation on all of the cut pieces I need for the project. The number is easily in the mid thousands, but to know the exact count might paralyze me with doubt. So, for now, the number will stand as an educated estimate of the mid thousands.

Quiet days

2011-08-10T23:07:00.002-04:00

As the title suggests, aside from the tremendously loud chirping crickets that have infiltrated the studio at night, all is fairly quiet. This certainly isn't a complaint, rather, it is nice to have a quieter space than usual to be thinking and working in. Most of the occupants of other studios are flung about the country, they'll be trickling back over the next couple weeks for the impending fall semester. Up until the first days of August I felt as though summer was still flush with possibilities: keeping a somewhat leisurely studio schedule, maybe making a jaunt back to PA, and generally just putzing about in the hot weather. All of those idyllic plans grew wings and flew out the window once I realized that this is the last month to get as much work done for my thesis show as possible. The show is still three months away, but as soon as August 29 rolls around my studio time will be squished in between teaching and coursework, oh and that thesis draft too.

So, I'm in the very beginning stages of two pieces that I hope to complete for the November show. The birds are starting to pile up...

I need to make new patterns, these one have seen better days and are slowly shrinking from my pencil crushing in the edges.

The scrap pile is also growing.

I had to do some rearranging in the studio to clear off the back wall...

for this.
Instigating another fight.

Picking a fight

2011-08-01T14:12:00.005-04:00

I've finally watched the documentary on Jimmy Page, the Edge and Jack White's respectively unique renditions on the electric guitar, music, and creativity, It Might Get Loud, last week and I wish I would have gotten to it sooner. The film opens with Jack White rigging a guitar from a block of wood, nails, wire and a glass Coca Cola bottle in a matter of a few minutes and then hooking it up to an amp and successfully producing tones from the contraption. Shortly after this sequence he talks about his view on learning, playing and if this makes sense, innovating the guitar back to its roots, defining his method as: "Pick a fight with it. And win the fight."

A few weeks before seeing It Might Get Loud I decided to attempt drawing again. Mind you, I haven't drawn with any kind of conviction in several years and left drawing and painting without much confidence. For whatever reason, I salvaged a few pieces of canvas and the scant drawing materials I had laying around collecting dust and put them to work. It took a few days to figure out how it all works but I am happy to have put the challenge in front of me.

Just this afternoon I had a great talk with fellow MFA friend Dan about drawing and one of the things that kept coming up is the idea that drawing has nothing to prove. It doesn't rely on tricks, slick materials, and most often doesn't need an intricate conceptual underpinning to work. It's just drawing. Unpretentious. Through this discussion we came to, yes, It Might Get Loud, and the getting back to basics, or some sense of truth with the lo-fi and lo tech methods. Using what you've got in materials, instinct, and energy to make something and damn does it feel great.

Perfect summer days

2011-07-28T14:04:00.004-04:00

Last week I had the pleasure of escaping to Queens to hang out with Hillary for a few days. The times I get to spend with her are the best mini vacations ever. Not that my life is so trying during the summer that I need breaks, but it is good to leave thesis research and studio work for a few days, get to a point of missing it, and then return feeling excited again.

Between games of Scrabble accompanied with copious amounts of coffee we attended a TuNe-YaRdS concert at Hudson River Park. Let me tell you, this young woman is amazing, she records several rythms at the beginning of each song and then loops them on playback for the remainder of the song. It's incredible the way she builds and modifies the song, and the vocals she can conjure up, holy buckets. Plus for the tour, she has added two saxophonists. Awesome. Check out the clip below from the concert and look her up. You won't be disappointed. Oh at the end of the concert, fireworks. Not too shabby for a free concert!

The following day I took a jaunt to MoMA to catch the Francis Alÿs exhibition. It was nice to see some of his seminal video works like Rehersal I (ensayo I) with the Volkswagon attempting to mount a steep hill, its movement and perpetual failure synced with musicians playing during the acceleration and then fizzling off when the car slips backwards down the hill. There were also one of his hand drawn animations, my favorites of his work, selfishly, I wish there would have been more of those.

Finally, we met up with another friend, Jason to check out the Jim Henson exhibit that opened at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria. We took in a screening of The Muppet Movie, and then looped around the rest of the museum. I loved seeing the drawings of Henson creatures I had never been introduced with alongside old friends from Sesame Street. Needless to say this had me waxing nostalgic and made me realize what a brilliant person Jim Henson was, focusing on young children in supremely imaginative ways and making it entertaining for the adults that are along for the ride.

Giant moth invading Mid Town...

So, that teaching gig...

2011-07-23T13:40:00.004-04:00

Hello again. A lesson that is known all too well and respected, "take the good with the bad," is governing my summer. Several wonderful things have transpired, traveling to Michigan, exhibiting artwork at various galleries, enjoying the summer weather and beaches on the North Shore, and a few other things that I'll mention shortly. As I mentioned earlier, I was looking forward to the prospect of teaching a course during summer session two in July and August, but a few weeks before the start of the class the university cancelled it. I was excited to teach the course since it is a foundations level 3D design course and one that I have not taught before. It certainly would have been a challenging portion of the summer with 5 hour class meetings twice a week and I am missing the accompanying modest paycheck for the course. After several phone calls, emails, and interviews for menial part time labor, all of my job prospects have fallen through as well. I know several millions of people are in the same situation I am in, and they likely have other beings to be taking care of too, which makes this mind boggling debt ceiling business all the more scary when Medicare/Medicaid, Social Security benefits, and Unemployment assistance are all in the hands of politicians.

Alright, enough of this pity party. If nothing else, my confidence taking a few hits is good training for the more serious task of post-grad school job hunting.

Fellow MFA colleague, Jamie, taking on the role of Watson, a la Waston and the Shark. An appropriate image of how I'm feeling and isn't Shark Week right around the corner?!

Louise Bourgeois at Cheim and Read

2011-07-01T21:07:00.006-04:00

I have been wanting to share this exhibition of Louise Bourgeois: The Fabric Works that was at Cheim and Read during June, for awhile now and finally feel I have words to describe it.

I ventured into the city to knock a few shows off of my "June Exhibition Bucket List" (see previous post) and booked it straight to this show. I am happy I did, rather than wait until after I've wandered around and wasted some of my energy on shows that aren't quite as inspiring. This exhibition of Bourgeois' fabric works is a light shone on the grace and intimacy that underpin all of her works.

The Waiting Hours, suite of 12, 15 1/8 x 12 1/4", 2007. (image from Cheim and Read)

Three pages from Dawn, fabric book, 12 pages, each 12 1/4 x 9 3/4", 2006.
Detail from Untitled 2006, fabric and fabric collage.

Untitled 2010, Fabric, thread, rubber, stainless steel, wood, and glass, 78 1/2 x 87 x 43 1/4".
Eugénie Grandet, Suite of 16, mixed media on cloth, 2009.

These works, some of the last pieces she made, provoke thoughts about birth, life, womanhood, time, abandonment, and death; all of which are pervade her more well known sculptural works. The striking simplicity of the circle and oval are used in nearly each of the works presented, in various cases representative of the egg and then ovum from which we all come from. The radiating circles of the sun, Dawn recalling the web that a spider, Bourgeois' mother / spider; would create in order to sustain life; the dawning of life, of motherhood, and a new day. A similar rising sun, setting sun, and eventual rising of the moon appears in The Waiting Hours, one can't help but think of the passage of time, sitting near a large body of water tracking the movement of the sun and moon. Here, the viewer is the one gazing against an unfathomable depth of field, a watery void, watching time. The series of small mixed media pieces, reminiscent of embroidery and needlepoint samplers; that comprise Eugénie Grandet illustrate in the clearest sense, the time of a woman's body with clocks, segmented portions that form grids charting a monthly cycle, flowers, eggs and ova, all signs of fertility. Nodding to Bourgeois' sculptural work, Untitled 2010 was included and set against Untitled 2006, in the former is shown a larger version of a female torso covered with several breast forms, often seen in her bronze and stone works. There is an overwhelming sense of abandonment with this work, an unidentifiable, immobile, section of a body lies on a table, next to a standing clock like structure, with threads (hours) gently pricking into a heavy, dark wooden form. Both bodies next to each other, begging to be connected, but not, save for being in the same vitrine. Perhaps, I am projecting this feeling of abandonment because the loss of her last year still haunts.

"in the seams" and some yooper fun

2011-06-14T22:59:00.005-04:00

i am excited to finally share with you images from my exhibition, in the seams, curated by kristine granger at oasis gallery. kristine did a beautiful job installing the work, just leaving me to place a finishing touch on a piece that requires my handwriting on the wall. it's quite a strange feeling shipping off an exhibition in just a small box and tube, then a week or so later shipping myself off to the gallery to find the my artwork immaculately cared for and installed; it's almost as if i am being reintroduced to the pieces after they've been away for years. strange indeed.

above are all exhibition views, more images of individual works in the show can be seen at my website.

i was fortunate enough to spend a few extra days in marquette after the reception in order to enjoy the open spaces and refreshing spring weather. i spent the days meeting several new friends, hiking along the shore of lake superior, kayaking in the dead river, taking walks through the woods, and indulging in some good food, spirits, and pleasant company. i think i see myself adapting to the yooper (upper peninsula, the u.p.) very easily and hopefully in the near future.

if you look closely, there is a small pug helping to navigate in the green kayak.

kristine searching for another hidden beach.

new friends nicole and her pup, iggy playing on the beach while kristine takes in the glorious day.

poppy 1924-2011

2011-06-14T20:37:00.004-04:00

a much younger me and poppy (grandpa mccurdy).

summer time and the living is easy ?

2011-05-31T23:02:00.006-04:00

kathryn: "yeah, so that blog of yours. the one you are supposedly keeping up to date every week..."

me: "i know, i know. i'm having trouble just keeping up to date with my life. i'm planning to update tonight."

an hour passes

me: under my breath, blog.

kathryn: 'bout time.

me: after a tot (of the tater variety).

alas, dear reader, i am back after several weeks and a few tater tots. according to the academic calendar summer has arrived, finally. the semester finished with a bang, sort of. after a seemingly never-ending term, final crits rounded out the second year and proved once again that i am among some wickedly brilliant and talented friends, for which i am eternally thankful for. once final critiques passed, we still had one last class meeting for our photography class, which centered on creating artist books and catalogues through on demand publishing through blurb, and a few of us, including yours truly, printed and bound the books by hand.

after a few days of not doing too much, june is upon us and there are lots of things already on the schedule, many meetings with dear friends from near and far, numerous shows to see in the city, a few receptions for exhibitions i will be showing in, and preparing a syllabus for teaching a foundations course, "idea and form" in july and august. first on the agenda is flying out to marquette, michigan to visit my dear, dear friend kristine, who was kind enough to invite me for a solo exhibition at oasis gallery. so in the midst of term paper writing, grading, and getting ready for final crits, i was also getting work together for the show. i am really happy to be sending work that is new enough for me to not entirely grasp it and see what happens when its all together in one space.

i've got a few more things to wrap up before leaving for mi, so for now i leave you with a few photos.

my studio 2 weeks before final crits...

my studio ready for crits.

first pasta salad of the summer and a partial june bucket list for shows that i need to visit. a full plate. har har.

ps: thanks dear squishy paste friend, kathryn, for keeping me kinda honest.

the semester that just won't quit.

2011-05-08T11:48:00.003-04:00

for whatever reason, this semester just won't give up. writing on a sunny cloudless mother's day morning, we still have one more week of classes and another one of finals, not wrapping up until may 23. spring break that was a mere three weeks ago feels like it was months in the past. i guess being on the cusp of beginning the final year, knowing the next 12 months will breeze right by, yet the last four seemed to have slowly slinked by, has led me to a very strange way of feeling time. cue steve miller band time keeps on slipping.

over the past few days excitement mixed with anxiety has crept into the recesses of my mind and the minds of my colleagues. grad school, maybe its just this program, has a way of imposing a segmented, compartmentalized view of charting and discussing artwork. case in point: second year solo show completed and partially critiqued in 2010; midterm crit march 2011, "i'd like to talk more about my work for the show this past december, i have some lingering thoughts and questions." "no, this is a mid term crit, we should discuss the work you have now." this pressure, wherever it is coming from, externally or more likely, from some insecure, constantly doubting internal tick, isn't easily diffused. so in a time when we are excited to see fellow grad students finishing their theses and our undergrads preparing to graduate in a few weeks, our thoughts are also focused on out thesis shows beginning in october, just a short five months away.

so here are a few images from just a few of the events that have gone on in the interim of my absence from the blog....

installation shot from second year mfa colleague, dan hess's show, the whale.

kathryn in her indigo glory during the japanese shibori workshop/fundraiser for japan held at textile arts center, brooklyn.

new developments

2011-03-30T22:16:00.007-04:00

it's been awhile since i've shared what's been shaking in the studio. so, some details on a couple items i'm pretty excited by...

about a month ago we poured bronze in the foundry and i came away with some great results with a little experiment. when it comes time to cast metal, i don't typically have a piece already in mind going in. rather, i devise little experiments or small pieces that will invariably hang around the studio for months at a time to eventually become part of a larger piece. this time around i was curious as to whether i could cast a piece of lace with any amount of detail. to do this, i used the lost wax casting method, dipped the lace into wax, incased the wax covered lace in an investment mold, burned out the wax and poured bronze into the mold. here is a nice little clip from discovery science channel's "how its made" that shows the ceramic shell casting process, similar to lost wax investment casting.

due to the thin and delicate nature of the wax piece, i wasn't sure how much success i would find. i kept my expectations low hoping to get about 25% of the piece if anything at all. i was pleasantly surprised with the results.

shortly after the pour i hunted down these beautiful laces in anticipation of another bronze pour at the end of april.

i'll keep the second little development brief for the sake being in the early stages of coalescing and my own anxious hang ups. upon reflection of love & its opposite i've begun to think about coal as a material worthy of further exploration and all of the tenuous personal memories and associations attached to the industry. so here is a small, somewhat cryptic, image of one of a several pieces currently indulging in my obsessive wrapping, tying, and knotting tendencies.

so much to see and hopefully enough time

2011-03-27T22:02:00.004-04:00

just a quick note on all the shows that have been piquing my interest of late.

glenn ligon, America at whitney museum.

this is glen ligon's first museum retrospective, including his seminal works: diamond dust prints (echoing warhol's own), sculpture and new works on canvas and paper.

sonia delaunay, color moves, the art and fashion of sonia delaunay at cooper hewitt design, national design museum.

encompassing delaunay's oft overlooked textile based works and fabric samples used in collaboration with several paris fashion houses (eventually her own, too) in the 1920s and through mid century. delaunay is most notably tied as a founding member french cubo-futurism, orphism with friend guillaume apollinaire.

infinite variety: three centuries of red and white quilts at park avenue armory via american folk art museum.

this exhibition gathers hundreds of quilts using only red and white in their compositions. sadly this is a short run, only open march 25-30.

luis camnitzer at el museo del barrio

camnitzer's prolific work runs the gambit of politically and socially engaged prints and works on paper that help define a south american aesthetic of print history during the mid to late 20th century, to intimate works drawing on child-like whimsy.

more soon, leaving you with an endearing image of sonia delaunay in her studio...

and the dark clouds part and the heavens sing

2011-03-14T22:36:00.003-04:00

2011-03-12T22:09:00.004-05:00

Untitled #1240 (Black Cloud), 2007–08

Taxidermy birds, silk flowers, silk/rayon velvet, plaster statuary, feathers, specially formulated wax, cable, cable nuts, acrylic paint, black spray paint, plaster, chicken wire fencing, metal hardware, felt, pearl-headed hat pins, pigment, thread, wire, plywood, wood, threaded rod, jaw to jaw swivel

74 x 104 x 174 inches.

Image: Galarie Lelong

One of the many highlights from the CAA conference was hearing Petah Coyne speak and getting to talk with her briefly afterward. She was part of a distinguished panel including Robert Gober, Vija Celmins, Philip Taaffe, and Janine Antoni discussing what goes on when art making doesn't.

Ms. Coyne offered up a few words that will forever resonant with me. When working in the studio becomes difficult, everything fails, and feels hopeless: "just show up."

workworkworkworkwork

2011-03-12T21:35:00.003-05:00

…is the title of an extraordinary show I saw of Charles LeDray’s work at the Whitney last month. This show was easily one of the best ones I’ve seen since in New York. The show originated at Hopkins Institute for Contemporary Art in Boston and it was impeccably installed at Whitney, as it well should be, the nature of LeDray’s work demands it.

LeDray’s artwork takes commonplace, quotidian objects of short term value, often culturally fetishized then discarded, and through dramatic shifts in scale, they become comedic, whimsical, and of most import, useless. The banal objects once coveted, books, clothing, vessels, are brought back to high preciousness in LeDray’s meticulous miniature re creations. Upon viewing the show, it was difficult to keep in mind that LeDray hand makes everything, no outsourcing involved. I could feel nothing but overwhelming anxiety while taking in the exhibition; torn between rapt curiosity of little wunderkammers of artworks and a visceral quickening heart rate at trying to fathom all of the outright work in the galleries.

Men's Suits, (2006-2009).

Overcoat, Fabric, wood, paint, plastics, thread, 25 x 20 x 11 inches, 2004.

Cricket Cage, human bone, 3 3/8 x 3 3/8 x 1 7/16 inches, 2002.
all images courtesy Seprone Westwater.

And a brilliant little aside to the show, one of the essays in the catalogue makes direct reference to a guilty pleasure of mine, Project Runway and Tim Gunn. Make it work.

Tempest

2011-03-12T20:40:00.002-05:00

Only a month in and I’ve broken my new years vow to keep this thing updated. It’s been about a month after CAA and the dust has settled somewhat. February was hands down one of the busiest months, beginning the spring semester, CAA, MFA thesis show, birthdays, and attempting to find a schedule or routine has interrupted regular posting.

Aside from all of this, times have been tough at school. Governor Coumo has proposed a New York State budget that will have devastating effects on SUNY, particularly the Stony Brook, if passed. SUNY is being forced to tighten its belt, while no concrete figures on how much exactly needs to be saved, trimmed, or divined out of thin air; to keep afloat have been offered up. The stress of the disappearing budget alone is enough force a condensing cloud of malaise to hang low over Long Island. Yet, there are other contributing factors that have converged to swirl together a perfect storm of discontent. Let’s be honest, there is nothing comfortable about graduate school; seemingly insurmountable schedules, deadlines, requirements, and busy work keeping one from getting to the studio to do what she came to graduate school to do: make work. Oh, right, art.

change of scenery

2011-02-11T01:18:00.003-05:00

This weekend you can find me on the College Art Association's Conference Blog, as a contributing writer of all things interesting and MFA student / recent graduate worthy.

CAA Conference Blog

CAA will take over my life

2011-02-06T16:58:00.003-05:00

The College Art Association annual conference comes to NYC this week. As I mentioned in an earlier post, being that Stony Brook is in close proximity of the city, we are afforded the opportunity to show artwork in the CAA NY Area MFA Exhibition taking place at Hunter College / Times Square Gallery. Thursday and Friday of last week groups of fellow MFAs hauled work into the city and installed the show. Given that nearly 20 schools within 100 miles of New York City are invited to participate, space is at a premium; its a packed show. Stony Brook has a prime spot in the gallery, sharing a roughly 600 sq. ft space with SUNY New Paltz. At the end of the install day Friday we left the gallery exceedingly proud of show we're puttin' on. The show is up from February 9 - April 9, Tuesday - Saturaday 1 - 6 daily. Times Square Gallery, 450 W. 41st St (between 9th and 10th Aves). Opening reception Friday Feb. 11, 6 - 9p. We put together a really lovely MFA Catalogue through blurb books. Check it out, its a pretty sweet book. Blurb is super awesome too, since it is on demand printing, anyone can order the book and it is kept in blurb's online library permanently.

STONY BROOK UNIVERSITY MFA 2011 | Make Your Own Book

By the time I remembered that I needed to be checking on conference registration for CAA the price had shot up to the point that I could not justify the cost for only being able to attend for 2 days. As it happened, CAA was seeking conference bloggers to attend the conference and related events, scope the scene, interview folks, review conference panels and CAA exhibitions, and post the experience of the 2011 conference (CAA's centennial anniversary, no less). I replied to the call, and I'm officially a CAA Conference blogger. As soon as the blog goes live, I will post the link.

Installation view, back wall l to r: Hrönn Axelsdóttir, Nicole Robilotta, Moira Williams, Kathryn Cellerini center, and my piece foreground.
Back wall l to r, Kristina Stoyanova, Jose Ojeda, Pancho Westendarp, Kathryn Cellerini foreground. (back of my piece center left).

Back right wall, Jamie Macaulay, Dan Hess's video / sculpture center, and again, me and Kathryn.

Heather Rowe

2011-02-06T15:17:00.004-05:00

Thumbing through Phaidon Press’s most recent Vitamin publication, Vitamin 3D: New Perspectives on Sculpture and Installation, I was reminded of the work of Heather Rowe. I first encountered her work about a year ago on a visit to PS 1, on view was Between Spaces, a group exhibition featuring artists whose work extracts familiar objects from their typical functions and recontextualizes them in order to open up new possibilities and situations.

Heather Rowe: On Returning, 2007. Installation and detail views.

What draws me to Rowe’s work is her use of common construction materials to create a barebones domestic architecture. Within her minimal and open constructs a sense of interior and exterior is clearly defined both physically and psychologically. Shards of glass, worn wooden fixtures creep out of crevasses and behind wooden panels signaling this is not just any quotidian home space, but it is contains secrets, nostalgic at best and menacing at its worst. The structures become architectures of place memory.

The slicing and deconstruction of Rowe’s anonymous domestic spaces also gives nod to Gordon Matta-Clark’s splitting houses, leaving both interior and exteriors intact.

Heather Rowe: Something Crossed the Mind (embellished three times) 2008, Installation and detail views, 2008 Whitney Biennial.

Heather Rowe: Installation view, Between Spaces PS. 1, 2009.

'twas the night before the semester...

2011-01-30T22:28:00.005-05:00

and all the through the house creatures are writing syllabi, doing laundry, checking off "to-do" list items and composing a conference paper (mad props to my squishypaste friend). yes, that's right we are finally starting classes tomorrow after a nearly six week break. getting into a routine will have to happen quickly, as the college art association conference in new york is fast approaching. stony brook is fortunate enough to be invited as a mfa school within 100 miles. so today the studio was busy with people selecting works for a short lists of contenders that the faculty will make parse through monday morning and make final decisions. install will be also be a quick one or two day event at the end of the coming week.

the collaboration with the craddock wetland preserve is coming along nicely. after three separate attempts at a working clay model, i think i've found a good design. the piece will be presented to the steering committee in the coming weeks and hopefully the bronze casting process will commence so the piece can be completed by early spring.

happy little craddock wetland trees.

there are rumors of another ice and snowpocalypse: redux 2 tuesday into wednesday, happy groundhog's day, eh?!

backyard view after snowpocalypse: redux 1 last week.

mass moca

2011-01-26T00:21:00.005-05:00

kathryn's mom in awe of tobias putrih's Re-projection: hoosiac

over the past week or so, i've managed to visit quite a few shows. beginning with an impromptu venture to mass moca with kathryn and her mom. kathryn and i had been planning to get up there before the end of february when the petah coyne and material worlds exhibitions come down; being that the beginning of the semester is right around the corner with the first few weeks packed with events, and kathryn's show second year show is on the horizon, sooner was better than later. the exhibitions were certainly worth the lengthy trip up to north western mass., sadly photos were not allowed in the petah conye show, but here is a link with information. good lord, the magic she can work with just wax, silk flowers, feathers, beads, and velvet, all of which can take on horrendous aesthetics if not handled properly, is incredible. i was also enamored with the fact that she listed every material in her artworks. no material is insignificant.

alyson shotz

orly genger foreground, wade kavanaugh and stephen b. nguyen, background

in other events, as stated above, kathryn is preparing for her second year solo exhibition. i am super stoked to see everything come together, so far, it is fantastic. we are also getting ready for the beginning of term on monday, it will be nice to be back to classes, though this unfettered studio time will be sorely missed. finally, i've been looking into heather rowe's work. expect a post devoted to her and her artwork in the coming days.

usual suspects

2011-01-19T11:54:00.005-05:00

left to right: daryl, jose, david, randel, myself, kathryn, moira, pancho, nina, jamie (& dan's santa), harlow in the middle, sniffing out pancho's shoe. photo taken by dan.

over the past few days the once lonely studios are beginning to be filled by their occupants. which means two things, the semester is right around the corner and the usual cracking wise, chop busting, all day and night art making shall commence.

the studios are a good place to be.

bueller? bueller?

2011-01-19T01:26:00.010-05:00

part of the fresh resolution that i am determined to adhere to is motivated by equal parts guilt, shame, and an unyeilding nerd complex. when discussing my recent work a few weeks ago and asked if there were any new artists of interest to the my work, i could say nothing. shameful. in this moment of bashful negligence, i decided to set some rules for myself and stick to 'em: learn up, read up, and write up.

the inquisitor of these woefully absent new references, graciously led me (as always) to a place to start: robert smithson. a curious place to begin. a relationship of an artist known predominantly for highly conceptual earthworks to my own artwork seems tangential at best. smithson was also a brilliant writer and philosopher, in reading his brief essay, "A Provisional Theory of Non-Sites," a small, gem of a connection was made. in his essay, smithson makes a case for the possibility of an artwork to reference a specific site without needing to bear strict resemblance of that referenced site. the artwork is a "dimensional logic," a ways and means of thinking alternatively about a site that may not always be visually accessible. moreover, the traditional model of life-like representation of subject or referent in an artwork is not always necessary or desirable. images of A Nonsite, Pine Barrens, New Jersey, referenced in "AProvisional Theory of Non-Sites," can be seen here, courtesy of Robert Smithon's Estate and James Cohan Gallery.

this short, provisional theory gave way to a new avenue of thinking about the selection of images used within my work. particularly, why abstractly recreate a family photograph, especially a photo that doesn't hold a clear memory for me? the tension created in loss, lack, and inadequacy that has become conceptually crucial in choosing specific photographs, is quite possibly the root of the object i make and of my practice itself.

resolution.

2011-01-10T14:00:00.003-05:00

dear readers, are you still there? i wouldn't be surprised if you have drifted away just as i have done for the past month or so. when there are long pauses, as you might have gathered, the blog falls by the wayside. in an effort to be more diligent in finding references, curious pieces of information, and other little glittering gems of interest, i resolve to research, write, and update this blog at least twice a week. several posts will follow this one to get caught up, but for now i leave you with a little detail from love & its opposite.

love & its opposite

2010-12-18T12:24:00.016-05:00

in keeping up with my resolution, i am happy to finally share with you this post that was drafted two weeks ago, just after the new year.

love & its opposite

we are finally at the end of term, and officially half way through with the mfa. with a happy relief my second year solo show is up. the work included in the show exploded forth to fruition over the past week, up until then it had been simmering below the surface, with no way of getting a good read on it until the pieces took life in the gallery. that being said, the work of a show doesn't stop once its opened, but persists constantly bringing new life to itself.

tether, screenprint on drywall, anthracite coal, tissue paper, wire, pine, cotton thread and sewing pins.

guillotine, pine, cotton thread, bronze, bolt fasteners, seam rippers,

"e l a p s e d works from 1970-2010" james nestor

2010-11-02T08:19:00.002-04:00

james nestor, my sculptor professor and mentor from iup recently opened his show, e l a p s e d works from 1970-2010, at kipp gallery at iup in celebration of countless his accomplishments and retirement. if you are in indiana, please stop by. congratulations, nestor!

images from reception

kipp gallery website

please join us for open studios!

2010-10-31T14:04:00.003-04:00

almost three months later...

2010-10-31T11:35:00.006-04:00

i will begin this post as i began the last one just short of 3 months ago: i am sorry. i am terrible at updating. so if you will still indulge me in a few minutes of your time, here is an as brief as possible update.

we are now almost through mid terms, with so many things going on, teaching, 2 "academic" classes (i.e. lecture courses / seminars outside of the studio) with the accompanied readings, conferences, collaborations, the textile arts center show / lecture, and oh, that solo show i have in dec. i almost forgot about, time to update has been ungraspable.

starting from the beginning of that long list, teaching has been awesome. a lot more work, time, energy, and struggle that one can ever anticipate. we are getting ready to do some bronze casting, i can't wait for them to see and experience the excitement. my classes have been going very well, too. i am in a critical place of having to be conscientious of what i schedule in order to have the right amount of credits to graduate. with my philosophy seminar and women's and gender studies class, i have realized i could probably take classes forever. yes, nerd, i know.

kathryn and i just returned from a midwest adventure. we attended the mid american print council conference in minneapolis mn, then had an all too brief visit with kristine in marquette, mi. the conference was fantastic, so many artists that have diverse approaches to their work and a deep desire to share all of that knowledge. marquette was beautiful, i think we just missed peak leaf changing, we took an afternoon hike along lake superior that was incredible, truly a perfect afternoon. i am looking forward to another visit soon!

prior to the midwest, several stony brook friends and i were invited to perform / collaborate with veronica pena, a sbu mfa graduate, in a piece by her that was presented in times square as part of spain art festival 2010. words cannot describe the beauty of the work and the friendships that were deepened through this experience.

here are links to some of the footage and images, photography by dan hess, another selfless mfa student who spent the entire long day with us, and capture breathtaking moments of calm in the insanity of times square.

veronica pena's site

promotional spain art fest video

finally, between all of this, i was accepted into the inaugural exhibition at the textile arts center in brooklyn, curated by joetta maue. the exhibition has come and gone, but before then the artists were granted the opportunity to give a short presentation of their works. the diversity of work included in the show was a testament to all of the possibilities of growth with the broad notion of "textile arts." through this experience i've met several artists i hope to stay in touch with and also will be able to become involved with the textile arts center in the future.

currently, i am working toward my solo show in december. the scale of the show is something entirely different that i have taken on before, so getting into the actual work hasn't been easy with needing to budget, draw up a plan of attack, and gather materials. i am anticipating a good work day today, beginning some screen printing that will take a few weeks to complete.

now, dear readers, i'll leave you with a few images from the events...

SculptureCenter

2010-08-08T14:15:00.003-04:00

sadly, my internship at SculptureCenter is nearly over, which means two things, i will be missing some wonderful folks i have met there, and school is fast approaching. my fall schedule won't allow me to continue interning there for the time being, but i look forward to volunteering with them, with the hopes of returning as an intern again over the next spring or summer. as trite as it may sound, the experience taught me a lot about contemporary, professional artists and sprung forth much contemplation about myself, and my artwork in context of it all; something that deserving of its own post.

during my time at SC i was tasked with assisting in the review of proposals for their In Practice open call (anyone can submit a proposal for upcoming group shows). so this wasn’t a typical gallery sitter / assistant internship, I was actually given quite a bit of responsibility that provided opportunity for making curatorial recommendations. ultimately, i evaluated proposals and then made a recommendation to get the pool of over 700 applicants to a list of 200. those 200 or so will go to a panel consisting of SC curators and independent artists for review and selection. in the process of reviewing hundreds of proposals, each of which included examples of work, artist statement, resume, and project proposal; I was privy to how artists present themselves. through all of this reading i was reminded of my penchant for research, reading and writing (all three that i am eagerly pursuing in a few different directions). above all, i read about and viewed artwork by so many working artists coming from limitless backgrounds affording me a greater understanding of the conceptual, technical, and formal tides that are guiding the contemporary current of art.

one of the more personally unsettling things to fall out from this experience is being confronted with how i fit or don’t fit with this grand scheme of new york art. not getting to deeply into the numerous thoughts that are residing in my head (and that will continue for some time to come) they snapped me out of that little bubble that sometimes surrounds us all,l to consider my position between mfa student, instructor, non-profit worker bee, and one that wishes to eventually take on art professionally. is the new york art environ one that i wish to be a part of? does my work fit the aesthetic, should it? as someone intensely committed to sculpture and defines myself and artwork from a centering point of sculpture, what if my work doesn’t fit someone else’s definition of sculpture? as troubling as all of this issues might come across upon first reading, they are all perfectly healthy issues to be considering and ones that will be continually contemplated and acted upon throughout this crazy pursuit of mine.

my newest friend

2010-08-06T07:17:00.000-04:00

this is my newest friend, miko, kathryn and randel's cat. she is fantastic, in her cool cat like way.

many things to list..

2010-08-05T07:52:00.001-04:00

this post comes with much time between the last, not for lack of events, but just the opposite. a run down of the goings on chronologically will be my plan of attack, and broken down into several posts. let's begin with the move.

kathryn, one of my dear friends, is back from her wondrous oregon adventure, you can read all about it at her blog. over the past few weeks kathryn, randel, their cat, and i were preparing to move into a new apt. together we reside in port jefferson, and the apt. is a markable upgrade for all of us, including, kitty (she has many great windows at which to perch in order to spy lots of feathered friends). each of us are paying less rent, we have on site laundry, great kitchen, kicking backyard complete with a fire pit. the best characteristic by far is the good, calming atmosphere the apartment has provided us, i like to attribute most of that to it's previous tenants, our wonderful michigander friends, kristine and per, whom we are missing dearly. so we are just about all settled and i am quite content to be there for the next couple years.

happy birthday!!

2010-07-19T11:37:00.001-04:00

as i have warned, i can be terrible at posting to the blog. though it is impossible to not share with everyone the cutest little child ever...miss guadalupe! she is the daughter of luis a fellow mfa student and his wife, carolina. guadalupe just celebrated her first birthday, happy birthday little miss guadalupe!!

happy solstice (belated)

2010-06-28T09:26:00.000-04:00

happy summer, the solstice is just one of the many things that have passed since last writing. summer has been quietly ushered into long island after a pleasant, yet pestering allergy season during the spring. here it is almost, july and my summer is nearly half over, just as i have kinda figured out a new working schedule.

i've started my internship at SculptureCenter, a few weeks ago. i am working in the operations area and with the "in practice" open call. i will primarily be assisting in looking at all the project proposals that come through and narrowing the field from nearly 800 applicants to approximately 200.

last weekend i finally got together with cory for the first of hopefully a few more times this summer. i met him and ryan chaney at storm king art center, which is pretty much a sprawling, 500 acre sculpture park and museum, or more accurately, a huge playground for art geeks. forgetting how buggy the place is and that it is prime poison ivy season, we left with remarkably little itchy spots. during the afternoon we were lucky enough to hear stephen talansik, talk about a work he completed for the 50th anniversary exhibition, 5 + 5 new perspectives.

as for things to come, there will be some shifting going on over the next few weeks in the studios. a bittersweet time, saying goodbye to brilliant friends but also having great expectations for what will come their way over the next months.

for now, i leave with a few shots from storm king.

cory and chaney checking put allison knowles' work for 5 + 5
chaney and cory with maneshe kadishmann's sculpture.
alice aycock's for mary, part of the 5 + 5.

louise bourgeois 1911-2010

2010-06-01T08:41:00.000-04:00

french-american sculptor and artist, louise bourgeois passed 5.31.10. a prolific, arresting, woman of untold influence on 20th and early 21st century artists. her passion and tenacity will be missed and something for me to personally strive for. thank you, ms. bourgeois.

new york times obituary

home again, home again.

2010-05-28T14:33:00.000-04:00

being at home is never entirely a relaxing venture. probably because i can't stand to being idle for very long. i am very fortunate to be welcome at the studios at iup when there are classes in session, and this time around a casting class was in full swing this past week. i was able to sneak in a few days to cast a few pieces and hang out with some of the students in the studio.

after a week of being home, i've got some castings to work with over the summer. even better, i've been reminded of how much i love being in large studio with lots of interesting things going on.

Fe

2010-05-17T11:02:00.000-04:00

as i write this entry i am nearing completion of my first year mfa. we had a marathon day of final critiques on friday, yet i still have to give my final for the beg. sculpture class on tuesday, do final grading and the semester will be complete by 4p wednesday (who's counting down?).

over the weekend i participated in an iron pour at the texas firehouse in long island city. i spent a day last week making the mold and working with a pretty cool resin sand material used in packing the pattern that becomes iron when the metal is poured. i will hopefully be able to learn more about this specific sand casting technique over the summer. but, i digress. so we poured the iron on saturday; the whole setup was on the sidewalk, with folks in full gear lining up the molds, tapping the iron, and pouring. pretty cool sight to see with the manhattan skyline as a back drop to the events. our pour was cut short when new york's finest showed up and had us call it a day. we still had the cupola full of metal that needed to be poured, so the firefighters and police gathered with rapt attention to see what exactly we were up to. once the last pot was poured they kindly asked us to clean up and clear out. sadly, not everyone's piece was cast. i was a lucky one that did get poured in the last round.

the folks at texas firehouse are hoping to get permits in order to pour again very soon. here's hoping that the process of paperwork and approval is a smooth one. one of the best things about the day was being a part of the pour and meeting a whole new group of people that love casting and sharing the experience. i met a wonderful new friend, nalani, who also attended stony brook, i look forward to casting and keeping in touch with her!

first year mfa exhibtions

2010-05-08T23:03:00.000-04:00

here are the website links for the stony brook university first year mfa exhibitions.

maieutics

brood

at both sites, you will find information about each artist and images from the shows.

catch up

2010-05-02T10:52:00.001-04:00

as a testament to the craziness of the past week, the following is a post that i wrote last sunday with intention of uploading pics then publishing. well, as all can see, that didn't quite work out...

writing on a quite sunday morning, a respite from the bustle of the last month of the semester. it is hard to believe it is may 2 and only 2 more weeks until the first year is in the books. the past month has brought some great things to see in new york city, and great folks to see them with. a few weeks ago made it to moma to see the william kentridge and marina abramovic exhibitions, both requiring a second view which i hope to get over the next week or so. i was back in the city yesterday with some students to visit the chelsea galleries and high line park. in late afternoon i hustled up to the botanical gardens in the bronx with great friends, hillary, george and chad. the conservatory was awesome; the gardens were added to a growing list of city places to go with cory when he is in town over the summer.

i've decided to hang around new york for the majority of summer. i am hoping to find an internship to occupy some of my time and a part time job to pay the bills. it wasn't a hard decision to stay, friends are here, cory will be close by, and my studio is here. i'll be also be sending out work to the woman made gallery in chicago for a printmaking show this summer. between all of that fun, summer will fly by, i'm sure.

packing it up to get to school, the first year group is preparing for the second installment of our culminating first year shows, brood. we open tomorrow, images to come, but for now, i leave you with some scenes from the new york botanical garden.

fox glove
giant orchids
hillary, george, and chad admiring a pepperish looking plant

maieutics, more images

2010-04-17T10:32:00.001-04:00

kathryn's work in the foreground, alisha in the center, pancho back right and jamie back left

jose back left, dan back right

my photo kept getting foiled by some of my lovely colleagues...haha!

waiting for home

2010-04-14T23:09:00.000-04:00

on monday i was finally ready and able to place a piece that i have been working on the entire semester. waiting for home is an outdoor, site-specific piece that began almost a year ago. i've always thought the little shed-like structures that serve as bus shelters for school children whose home are too far from the main drag to be interesting. they are very physical space between home and school, yet often they are unmarked, simple shelters save for the scrawlings of the occupant on the inside. what if these spaces became marked with the feeling of home; the idea of home in an unexpected place?

i constructed my own bus stop that contains things from home. the shelter is on wheels allowing it to be mobile, just like our connotations of home are never fixed, even if we are not close to home. with the help of two fellow grads, my bus stop was placed next to a campus bus stop, inviting people to sit while waiting. the bus shelter will travel to other bus stops on campus over the next week or so.

maieutics

2010-04-12T00:24:00.000-04:00

maieutics: Ma*ieu"tics\, n. The art of giving birth (i. e., clearness and conviction) to ideas, which are conceived as struggling for birth.

our first year MFA exhibition opened this past week, with the reception on thursday night. we had an overwhelming turnout, due to being able to coordinate our opening with the undergraduate honors exhibition's reception right before ours on the same day. being that we are one of the largest classes to come through the program at stony brook we had the option of splitting the gallery time allotted for two shows, 4 in one and 5 in the other. in light of this option we did the only thing we felt was right and said no, all 9 of us will show together; we came in as 9, work together as 9, it is only fitting that we show as 9. given that the gallery is relatively small there was much anticipation as to what this show would look like with so many people taking part. we worked tirelessly to be sure that everyone was fairly represented, with as little sacrifices made as possible. the resulting show is one for all of us to be proud of. even in the small scale of the works, they speak volumes.

more images to come...

l to r: dan hess, luis ramirez, jose ojeda, auj khan, kathryn cellerini, myself, jamie macaulay, pancho westendarp.

sgc, phil & art conference, nyc..

2010-03-28T13:25:00.000-04:00

writing from new york city. i am staying with the best folks ever, hillary and george. had a deservedly lazy morning of coffee and scrabble, and getting ready to run some errands this afternoon. this is a drastic switch from the excitement of the past week leading up to spring break.

i spent the early part of the week preparing for the southern graphics council conference in philadelphia. this yearly conference is accurately described by julianne as a "geek-fest for printmakers talking about inks, papers, and presses." conference participants were invited to submit an edition of prints for an exchange, in return each person that submits gets a portfolio of 10 random prints back. i was able to stay at the conference long enough to attend a few panels, see some great exhibitions at UArts, PaFA, and Moore College, and got together with some iup folks too! friday afternoon i had to leave julianne, kathryn, and jose at the conference and head up to new york city for a philosophy and art conference at stony brook manhattan.

my print, top left.

kathryn's print on the left, jose's on the right...
and julianne's.

saturday i took part of a collective memory and material panel at the conference with 2 brilliant artists, kristine granger and toni pepe dan. laine nooney delivered an incredibly informed, intelligent response to our work after our presentations. her response will be a nice piece of writing to hang onto and reference in the future. after the conference i joined a friend to see a play, in the heat of the night. it was a nice way to slide into spring break, and relax after an insane week.

for the rest of the weekend, i am hanging out with h and g, it is great to spend time with such generous and fun friends! then monday i have an early flight home, i am looking forward to seeing family and friends there.

william kentridge and hikes

2010-03-21T14:20:00.000-04:00

the past week or so has been very busy, but not too much that it keeps me from fun times with good friends. south african artist, william kentridge, known for his spectacular charcoal drawings / animations and video work is all over new york city right now. most notably, he has designed the set and produced shostakovich's opera, "the nose" at the metropolitan opera and has a retrospective exhibition at MoMA. he gave a public lecture at the new york public library a week ago, i and a couple of great mfa friends were lucky enough to hear him speak and talk with him personally afterwards. he gave a brilliant lecture, and said many things about making art that i was in position of needing to hear. the link below is a short video of the lecture.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NgB_IkPTjw

the weather has turned on long island for the better. according to the locals, this winter was atypical. much snow and ice. with the warmer weather i've been able to learn about some of the parks and preserves that are close by. kathryn, kristine, julianne and i went for a walk at avalon park in stony brook, and yesterday i went with julianne, jeremy, and kristine to the weld nature preserve in smithtown. there was a beautiful phosphurescent green bog with hundreds of croaking frogs. the sound was so surreal and unlike anything i've ever heard. the part leads up the the beach were we stood in the frigid sound for a few minutes and basked in the warm sun. two great parks to escape to before getting started on a busy day at school.

first sketch

2010-03-06T11:33:00.000-05:00

after viewing blogs by artists, i think it is time to exploit this medium to keep those close to my heart, yet physically far flung, up to date on the little and big things guiding my life and the lives of those around me.

birthday has come and gone, but not without some fun. two of my very close first year mfa friends and i have birthdays within 10 days of each other, so we threw a "fish party."

three fishes and three wishes

work is up and on view for the "director's cut" exhibition at the art league of long island. studio program directors from long island universities were invited to select one student to represent their respective school for the show. some images from the reception... thank you kathryn for your all seeing and capturing camera!

l to r: mfa director, stephanie dinkins, kristine granger, and jose ojeda.

l to r, (un)making, threaded together, and family portrait.