Artist Research no.13: André Kertész

R.I.P Jean-Claude

Jean-Claude died yesterday of sudden complications of a ruptured brain aneurysm. Following a promise the couple made to each other years ago the works in progress and those in the future will continue. Loved that crazy hair.

Research no.12: Neo Geo

1 part Op art

2 parts 80's day-glo

1/2 part 7th grade geometry

4 parts Completely awesome

Renders you.... NEO GEO.

(Thanks Tom.)

Neo Geo was a movement in the late 1980's that combined 1960's psychedelic patterning, Op Art from the 1970's and an interest in geometric forms. This conglomeration of movements has a variety of names, Also Fakism, Neo-Conceptualism, Neo-Futurism,...Neo-Op, Neo-Pop, New Abstraction, Poptometry, Post-Abstractionism, Simulationism," and "Smart Art. Artists working in the manner of Neo Geo include:

David Burdeny, Catharine Burgess, Marjan Eggermont, Paul Kuhn, Eve Leader, Tanya Rusnak, Laurel Smith, Christopher Willard, and Time Zuck.

These images are taken from Neo Geo, A new Edge to Abstraction, Edited by R. Klanten, S. Ehmann, and B. Meyer. Specific artists and titles were unable to be located. 

It was difficult to find more information on this movement as it shares a title with this...

Artist Lecture no. 6: Francis Cape

 I attended Francis Cape's artist lecture presented by the sculpture department in the VCU commons. I was a couple minutes late and felt behind and unsure the entire time. His process seems inaccessible and his work, rather far from my understanding of the medium. I was not sure if I had missed some very important introduction/ explanation of his work, or if it was some disconnect occurring due to the distance of woodwork to my medium of photography. 

He is a British artist living in upstate New York, about 2 hours from Wall Street and his work centers on social awareness, and political ideas. His speaking was laborious, in all the lectures I've attended he presented the least amount of slides, he just talked so slowly, not necessarily carefully, or intentionally- just slowly, so that I was anxiously waiting for more visual clues to his "point." It didn't take long until I was no longer anxiously awaiting the images to progress, as they seemed to go over my head. Perhaps it is an ingrained politeness of myself that when something does not make sense, or generally seems boring, I chalk it up to being higher than my learning, that my ignorance must be blocking out the lovely nature an artwork is trying to speak about. I'm unsure if this was the case with Francis Cape's lecture. 

He is interested in our government's reaction to Katrina, or lack thereof, and makes commentary on our government's (un)involvement in social disasters. I connected most with his "Waterline" series from 2005. He walked through the neighborhood of Gentilly and noticed an eerie silence in what was a middle class anytown, USA community. He made images of the houses, all with a matching waterline, and hung them in the gallery stringing that line together. He also took note of the wainscoting he continuously observed in Louisiana, painted, or not, and recreated it in the gallery, insuring the height of the paneling corresponded with the height of the water that rushed through Louisiana. 

He also has made images of his town, a lower class area of upstate New York who's dilapidated state could easily be confused with a place that had a hurricane tear through it. His photographs were accompanied with replicas of the Utility Furniture Scheme which was a program that existed in Britain from 1942- 1951, as he mentions on his website, it "was the last example of the link between  furniture design and social idealism; a history that started with William Morris in Britain, continued with Bauhaus, then De Stijl, and was taken up in Scandinavia, before returning to Britain. Design is no longer seen as part of a larger scheme for social improvement; the material itself is the end." His work takes off from here into finely crafted woodwork, meant to last, into a world I could not connect with. 

Artist Research no.12: Roger Ballen

Roger Ballen is an American artist born in New York in 1950. His work is influenced by the time he has spent living in Johannesburg, South Africa for the past 40 years or so. His work began as documentary photography but has since moved into the realm of fictional theater, and jumps between something photographic, and sculptural. His images comment on space, and the information allowed to a viewer. Bodies are fragmented and distorted, and his work has a very eerie feel to it.

Roger Ballen Untitled. Silver Gelatin. Date Unknown

Roger Ballen. Encroachment. Silver Gelatin 2001

Roger Ballen Untitled. Silver Gelatin. Date Unknown

Research no.11: Plaskolite

I've been pouring resin over my prints to build up depth, and experimenting with applying cold wax between layers for a more matte finish. This is working to an extent, but I think the top layer of wax will really achieve this the best. The main problem I am having is keeping the photographs straight across and controlling the drips off the sides. The resin pools off the side as they bow down with the resin's weight and dries on the bottom of the photograph causing discoloration on the front. I want to illuminate the end product so I didn't want to back them with anything opaque. I've decided on plexiglass, but am trying to make an unarchival process as archival as possible. Plaskolite seems to be the right choice, they make OPTIX acrylic sheets that I could cut into 1-2 inch side panels and screw together due to it's high impact qualities. This way when I'm pouring the resin it can drip down the sides in an organic way, but the clear resin will look rather similar to the acrylic.

Here are some specs from the company's website:

"OPTIX is a continuously processed, high quality acrylic sheet that is crystal clear, impact resistant and weather resistant. A .125" general-purpose acrylic sheet is approximately 2 to 3 times more impact resistant than double strength window glass, and about 4 to 5 times more impact resistant than wire glass or other glasses. .250" general-purpose acrylic sheet is approximately 9 to 10 times more resistant than wire glass or other glasses.

It is ideal for almost any fabrication or glazing application and offers high molecular weight for superior thermoforming, bending and flame polishing. Special U.V. stabilization protects the sheet from yellowing and it's backed by a ten year limited warranty.

Primary applications for OPTIX include fabrication, picture framing, skylights, displays, signage, lighting and point of purchase. OPTIX acrylic is available in colored, impact modified, green edged and patterned sheet. For fabrication convenience and flexibility, OPTIX Acrylic Sheet can be ordered in custom sizes and thicknesses with Plaskolite's "Run-to-Size" program. 

Physical Properties

OPTIX acrylic sheet is crystal clear, durable, weather-resistant and lightweight for easy transport and storage. It also offers a high molecular weight for ease of fabrication, low heat loss for economy and an attractive clear edge color. OPTIX acrylic sheet is available in a variety of colors, non-glare, patterned, translucent and transparent colors. It is produced in thicknesses ranging from .040" to 1.0" and sheet widths up to 104".

Safety Concerns

OPTIX acrylic sheet is a combustible thermoplastic. Acrylic sheet will ignite and burn if placed in an open flame or in contact with any other source of ignition. When working or storing OPTIX acrylic sheet, please be aware of the thermoplastic properties and take into consideration fire precautions."

Artist Lecture no. 5: Shimon Attie

I attended Shimon Attie's artist lecture today in the commons. Following some technical difficulties with a ::GASP:: slide projector ( Who uses those? They still exist? I thought those were banned from use some time ago and labeled as historic) I realized I actually am familiar with some of his work already. He is concerned with communal memory, with marginalized groups of society, immigrants especially it would seem. He creates large technically impressive sight specific works historical in nature, that somehow carry on a conversation with the current surroundings. He utilizes new media, film, and photography. "The Writing on the Wall" I had seen before, and I found it his most compelling work. As someone mentioned, it was a work that could have really only existed when it did- It was created in 1991, just after the Berlin Wall had been torn down and a reintegration of East and West was occurring.  The pre-war buildings he projected found photographs of former Jewish residents and businesses onto have since been renovated or demolished. I enjoyed the Guerrilla style approach he took to this series, running around Germany with a generator and a bunch of used projectors, setting up these shots in the night. His second series he showed, "Portraits of Exile" was also gorgeous and ethereal. He installed large light boxes underwater in front of the Danish Parliament building with portraits of modern day and historical immigrants collaged with other imagery that provided some context. The rippling water created images that functioned very much as watery memories.

Artist Lecture no. 4: James Sienna

"I thought about doing it, so I better not -Not do it. So I did it."

Uh huh. This guy is incredible. He creates mathematical images directed by self imposed rules, equations, standards. “I make moves… when I make a painting I respond to a set of parameters, like a visual algorithm.” Each column halves itself. No lines should touch. Lines are parallel at top and bottom. Fibonacci sequence divides the space progressively. All lines are to be acute angles. And then he paints.  It seems as if each painting evolves into the next; now the combs should multiply, now that side should divide, now... It just seems so lovely. His titles are after thoughts, something he refused to do for much of his artistic career. It seems as if they describe the rules followed, and in some, as if they are written before the painting is created. Upside Down Devil Variation, Forty-Six Combs, Multi-Colored Nesting Unknots, Double Recursive Combs, Nested Boustrophedonic Unknots, Narrows Mantilla. Someone commented on the way some pieces start very straight and ruled, but as variations conjure into existence they seem to sway and BREATHE. Wow. That was incredible. Try and tell me that Coffered Lattice (with crosses) doesn't appear to be in mid-sigh. This guy spoke as lovely as he paints. He made it a conversation, literally encouraging people to shout out questions and comments, he laughed and joked, made lots of marijuana references, "This one still looks good even without the marijuana," "I use cheap materials, I couldn't afford nice paint- well maybe if I had a smaller marijuana budget.." The whole thing just seemed comfortable, this is a generalization, but I almost enjoy the atmosphere of painting and printmaking lectures more than -GASP- Photography & Film. In the introduction they gave him they said lots of things but this was the statement that rang most true: "His painting Think as good as they Look." ... Here's some more things they said:

Siena’s work has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions at galleries including Pierogi 2000 in Brooklyn, Gorney Bravin + Lee in New York, Daniel Weinberg in Los Angeles and PaceWildenstein in New York and over 55 group exhibitions throughout the world including the 2004 Whitney Museum of American Art Biennial. The recipient of multiple honors and awards, Siena received an Award in Art from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York (2000); the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Biennial Competition Award (1999); and The New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship in Painting (1994). Siena lectures and teaches at numerous institutions throughout the US, including the Cleveland Institute of Art, Ohio; San Francisco Art Institute; School of Visual Arts, New York; Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York; and the Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond.  Siena completed an artist-in-residency program at Yaddo in 2004 and 2007, and recently was elected a Director of Yaddo. James Siena currently lives and works in New York City and the Berkshires.

James Siena’s work can be found in numerous public collections including the Des Moines Art Center, Iowa; Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY; Museum of Fine Art, Boston; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sedalia, Missouri; McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, Texas; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Philip Morris Collection, New York; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; UCLA Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.