Independent Project: Concept

            Inspired by my love and connection to the natural wonders of Washington state I have decided to take on the task of creating a series of oil paintings discussing the current issues with deforestation and land development in Washington state. Particularly concerned with the decreasing availability of animal habitat and recreational park land I will, in addition to the paintings, be researching the motives and outcomes of the timber and housing industry with an end goal of informing my audience on the dangers of urban sprawl and habitat loss.

            The series of paintings will include two different scenes each painted in oil paint on 18x24 inch stretch canvas. The first painting envisioned will depict a serine natural waterfall in the heart of Washington states forests. In the foreground will be a simple reality sign marked with a large ‘sold’ sticker. The main motive with the first painting will be to contrast the beautiful forested environment by the destruction and pollution associated with the encroachment of real estate and housing development. The second painting will be a simple picture of a stand of trees in a forest marked shockingly by a number of brightly colored tree tags announcing for them to be cut down. In this piece the motive will be to comment on the timber industry and the subtle cues left behind when they plan for clear cutting of the forest. Both paintings are meant to pick fun at the timber and housing industries while also acting as stark and provoking images that will make people consider the topic. The final product should be a series of two paintings places side by side in the gallery representing the future struggles Washington state forests will have to endure.

Independent Project: Research

The forest areas around western Washington are some of the most diverse and rich temperate forest on the planet but recently the growing demand for wood resources and land for housing has caused the forests that were once held sacred to be demolished and scarred. Washington State is experiencing a dramatic population explosion having grown over 21 percent between 1990 and 2000. With this boom it is expected that the population will double by the year 2025. With this growth in population comes the demand for more land. In the time between 1971 and 2001 our state has lost over 700,00 acres of timberland to development for housing and farming. The lowland forests of this state are some of the most abundant for softwood production and contribute annually to over 2% of the nations timber supply. With this decreasing in forested areas comes the depletion of air quality, loss of animal habitat and an increased potential for landslides and other natural disasters. The problem with land has been around for decades in the states but has only recently become a problem due to the high price for forest covered land. Long time owners now choose to sell their plots of land with the reward of millions of dollars from wealthy residential developers and their counterparts. It is apparent across the state the forested land is being converted to non-forest uses at a higher rate than ever before. Land has seen a dramatic turn towards privatization leaving previously protected federal land in the hands of frivolous business developers who care very little for the wellbeing of the environment. In summation, the forested lands of western Washington are in a dire situation; a situation that I will be discussing in my upcoming series of paintings, which were covered in the concept potion of this assignment.

Independent Project: Inspirational Artists

Below are just a few of the artists I am gaining inspiration from for the upcoming foundations independent project. The artists listed were selected because of their environmental subject matter and with the exception of Ed Burtynsky their traditional 2D paint and paper processes.

Michael Brophy - http://www.laurarusso.com/artists/brophy_m.html

Ed Burtynsky - http://www.edwardburtynsky.com/

Matt Johnson - http://mattjohnsonart.com

Wednesday Night: Cable Griffith

Last night cornish curator Cable Griffith presented a selection of his works past and present and discussed his background in art curating as well as his new vision for the gallery at Cornish. Amongst his colorful and explosive paintings Griffith introduced us to his life of art making and his constant struggles and successes in being a creative person. Though his talk focused mainly on his works in paint our foundations class was asked to point this blog post more towards his current role as cornish curator. Griffith described his love for curating and his obsession with connecting to art and trying to tell a story though his shows. He explain his affection for putting smaller elements together to create a large more expansive and exciting experience. Cable continued to expand on his curatorial vision envisioning participation and experimentation, breaking the mold and creating something invigorating for the community. Between his inspirational plans Griffith briefly commented on his struggle with finding the correct theme for a show and keeping relevant and flexible with the times. All in all he inspired and informed our Wednesday night class and pointed myself and my fellow students down a path full of discovery, education and art making.

Art and Chance ( End of cluster assignment )

Coincidences and chance occurrences surround us all the time in our daily lives, however many seem to believe that the calculated, controlling ideals of fine art making have no room for the deformities of chance.

Wednesday Night Assignment

Films


1 - Maya Deren - "Meshes of an afternoon"
2 - Anri Sala - "Time After Time"
3 - Pipilotti Rist - "I want to see how you see"
4 - Pierre Huyghe - "JEDi"
5 - David Claerbout - "Le Moment"
6 - William Kentridge - "Automatic Writing"

Prompts 


1) 6 Word Poem
2) Illot Mollo
3) Automatic Drawing
4) Automatic Writing
5) Limerick
6) Excerpted Line Extention

1 - 1) Lucid   Dreaming   I   See   Myself   Die


2 - 4) Night horse sleeps still in its place with automobiles from the past drifting in vein. Silent horse walks no where, it is night, time for sleep. Focus us pointless, drift into the void - with stars the night fills. Mule possibly, I admit I am wrong. Horse. Alive more, horse dies in daylight, arches broad focus, still nighttime. Leg Lifts. Leg Lifts.

3 - 3)

4 - 5) Mountain has no top. Looks as though the sky might drop. Trees creep and fall. Snow ball. When will this stop.

5 - 6) Illuminate darkness with fog all around creeps forth into the arms of many trees all around.

6 - 2) Curves of the body erase and decay , Illustrate my desire to find the key to life, of the human body and embark, window pane evaporates with lines that crisscross the page, Reflections of a boy long lost hopeless.

Figure as Form Drawing

After completing the below mentioned Figure as Form assignment we were asked to create a large scale finished drawing on paper with any medium we chose. This is what I drew.

Figure as Form Sculpture

Utilizing nearly twelve pounds of clay and over three weeks of intensive child labour I have finally completed the 'top half' section of my figure as form sculpture!
Designated either a top or a bottom my foundations class was assigned to sculpt a unique figure element for the end of the cluster. Once completed the top and bottom halves of different peoples works were combined and mended together to birth a new clay creature. So yea, here is what me and kevin got up to...

Roll Call!

Below is my submission for freshman roll call 2011. Pieces include classwork and art created outside of school. Mediums include: Digital (Illustrator), Oil Paint, Graphite, Collage, Found materials, Wood and melted wax.

Contour Collage

Continuing into the 6th cluster we were assigned to create a large scale collage following a few open ended directions and techniques. After utilizing the various methods to create the collage materials we were asked to replicate a contour drawing of one of our body parts we had done previously. All stitched together this is what I got - a hand.

Chain Reaction Video

Last week my foundations class collectively created a rube Goldberg machine out of spare parts found around the studio. Below is what we created as well as the catastrophe that occurred just as the machine was ending. Enjoy!

Wednesday Night Objectness Response

The piece I am choosing to talk about is a sculptural object created by Bo Bartlett and selected by Dan Shafer.
The piece itself came into existence as unintentional art. As Dan explained, he would travel to Bartlett's studio from time to time and notice his oil painting palette which would over time accumulate into large lumpy piles of paint. Inspired by its unique figures Dan decided to show it as his selection for the gallery showing last week.
I find this piece, among others, to be the most object-y or thingy out of them all for two reasons. The first being its evidence as a sign of process and time and its stance as a utilitarian object that was used to create something else. To me something that feels like an object is something that has been used or created and has a definitive existence as a piece of someone's daily life. In this case Bartlett's paint palette has stood up to these requirements and through its randomized aesthetic has become a piece of art. The second reason being the actual shapes and forms that lie within the piles on the palette. THe lumps and mounds of the palette and paint create weird martian looking rocks and columns as well as a strange sense of life and the presence of an extraterrestrial being. The colors along with the extremely unique and organic forms, in my opinion represent the most distinctly 'thingy' object in the entire show.

Defending Ray Johnson

It can truly be said that Ray Johnson's work was uniquely his own. Ray was a man genuinely intrigued in his field and I believe sincerely loved the process of making art and allowing the world to see it.
It is not a question whether Ray Johnson's works were pieces of art, they invoked an emotional response from those who looked at then and commanded a sense of purpose and desire. His pieces seemed to blend the line between love and art - this said because Ray johnson truly created art just for the sake of it and for nothing else. Though ray would sit on the phone and haggle for process for hours it was simply because, for him, that was part of the art making process. Every event, person and idea in his life emitted an artiness to it. Whether his life itself was some sort of dark artists performance is up to debate but what i find to be much more interesting is his ability to create for the purpose of creating. From his immense body of work he would send image and collages to random patrons and tell them to in turn mail the work on again. Ray cared not about price or fame but about people seeing his work and taking from it some emotional response and that I feel is truly what art should be about. Unfortunately Ray's life was cut short by the work of his own hands but luckily his story and art will live on into the future to educate people on the real meaning of making something and being creative.

One Minute Sculpture

Each of the following is a 'one minute sculputre' preformed by myself following a unqiue objective / set of rules.

1. Place a spoon in your hair using a rubber band

2. Wear a wooden neck tie and sit in the chair

3. Sit in the window frame and balance some blocks between your head and the ceiling

Substrate Matrix as a Whole

The four Foundations classes have finally finished the substrate matrix! Combining four substrates from each student utilizing collage, paint, cultural color and found materials the wall comes together to create a unique and energetic piece of art. This piece as a whole holds something very unique within it. By integrating each separate piece into a singular element we create a wall that forms unintended connections, patterns and forms. Sparkling with a wide range of colors I find it amazing how each piece interacts with its neighbors, and when viewed from a distance morphs into a tantalizing borage of color harmonies and gradients. In addition to the color the forms in the piece as one create unique relationships and commonalties. One piece will seem to be the perfect partner to another even though they were never intended to be next to each other. The random aspect of the piece as a while plays perfectly into the processes we went through to make then and in the end comes together stellarly to create a wall mural that is composed not from one specific thing but rather many. 

4th Work + Series as a Whole

The fourth work we set out on combined the inspiration from our third works with the recent investigation of found objects and color. For this last piece I united the somewhat random color composition of melted crayon droplets with the found element of a old music CD. To make the piece more intriguing I cut the CD in half and lifted the bottom side to raise it from the substrate and create a three dimensional aspect to the piece. 

The series as a whole came together just as I had wanted and ended out being extremely successful. Noted by the other students in my class a few common elements of my substrates include: the common central form element surrounded by a jumbled / randomized background composition : The use of bright colors in harmony with a strong symmetry thus balancing the piece and grounding it. All the piece hold a certain weight and intrigue which I find to be very unique and highly pleasing to the eye. This section turned out to be by far my favorite in addition to being the section which I produced my most accomplished works.