Cindy Sherman: Favorite Famous Artists / Part 8

I mentioned in some of my earlier “Favorite Famous Artists” posts about Barbara Kruger and Georgia O'Keefe that I've always loved Feminist art. I especially like art that is somehow creepy or disturbing in some way (see my post on Francis Bacon). As a young artist, I loved when women artists were in your face. I wanted to be in your face, too!

Even though I’m not usually inspired by photography, there is something about Cindy Sherman’s work that grabs me, on a visceral level (which is exactly where I like it!). Her photographs are painterly, imaginative, and abstract, even though the images are (sort-of) representational. The colors and lighting are so vivid, so saturated, so dramatic. As a viewer, I really get a sense of emotion, something sinister under the surface, something surreal and dreamlike.

Maybe activist art about Feminist issues has fallen somewhat out of fashion since the 1980s, but I think it’s as relevant now as much as ever... especially with many of the services that benefit women (and children) who live in poverty on the government’s budget chopping block. Cindy Sherman’s work isn’t directly about these issues, but I think her female caricatures are so powerful and disturbing precisely because they reflect something truthful about the way women are (de)valued in our culture.

Downtown L.A. Fashion District Mannequins

On Friday morning I went down to the Fashion District in Downtown Los Angeles to get some visual stimulation, and to see what’s new at Michael Levine’s fabric store. Whenever I’m in L.A., I like to see what’s new.

These two displays of head-wear were right next to each other on the street. I like the juxtaposition of the rainbow-colored wigs next to the rainbow umbrella (top). And there was just something funny (and a little creepy) about all those stuffed animal hats, especially on the head with drawn-on eyes (bottom).

I bought two small blue feather boas for $2.50 each. I have an idea I want to try with one of my paintings. If it works out, you’ll probably see it in a future blog post.

Grand Junction Free Press: My Art Featured Today!

My artwork and trip to The Artist Project New York were featured in today’s Grand Junction Free Press!

Western Colorado Center for the Arts Curator (and my friend) Camille Silverman said about my work, “You can feel her restraint and her letting go of control within the body of work. That’s interesting; it adds this tension and release that makes her work alive.”

This summer, I’ll be teaching a workshop at the Art Center based on processes for conceptualizing and creating abstract art. It is already open for registration and space is limited. Find out more here.

New York to Colorado: Road Trip Detour(s)

 A covered bridge in Greenup, Illinois

After my art show in New York City, Matt and I decided to take the scenic route back home to Colorado. The first couple days were dreary and rainy, so we waited to take our detours until the weather was more pleasant.

We found an old road in Illinois called the Old National Road (US Hwy 40). It was America’s first transcontinental highway, before the Eisenhower Interstate Highway System was implemented. It once ran all the way from Atlantic City to San Francisco.

 

Gateway Arch at dusk in St. Louis, Missouri

As we traveled, Matt and I listened to the audio book of On The Road by Jack Kerouac. He mentions many of the places we passed through on our journey cross-country. I suspect the characters spent a lot of time hitchhiking along the Old National Road. Of course, now I'm obsessed with this book. I don’t know how I never read it before. Apparently, they’re making a movie to be released sometime soon.

A silver lining somewhere in central Kansas

Kansas is comprised of flat, rolling plains. Many of the small towns we passed through seemed to be half-deserted, their better days behind them. Mojo wore himself out barking at cows as we passed by. At dusk, our spirits were lifted by this beautiful glowing cloud with a silver lining.

Mojo, exhausted after confronting all those cows

I Dreamt of Things: Sand Storm

I dreamt of an immense windstorm. Dust blew all around, darkening the sky as far as the eye could see. Sand dunes buried all the local homes. No one seemed to notice. Everyone went about their business as usual.

The Artist Project New York: My Experience

 Unpacking and hanging the paintings. 

Matt and I arrived at Pier 92 in New York City to set up my booth for The Artist Project New York after a 3-day drive cross-country from Colorado.

Here I am, sitting in my booth.

Overall, I think the quality of the work on display was very good, and professional (Check out The Artist Project New York Facebook page for images). I met tons of people, got lots of great feedback, shared my info with some interior designers, and met several gallery owners who were interested in displaying my work. Most importantly, I was able to develop the narratives that best describe my work to everyday art lovers.

I met people who were genuinely moved by my paintings. Two separate women had such strong experiences, they were nearly brought to tears! These are truly the moments that artists (at least myself) hope to achieve through their work — the transcendental communication, the electric connection, with the heart of another human being.

This is the other side of the booth. 

If I go again next year, I think I'll fork over the extra money for more lights. The only downside of this show is that the booth fee is so expensive, and then you have to pay extra for every little thing (lights $90/ea, the table was over $100, the chair over $50, internet access, and electricity are all extra — and they’re only rentals... highway robbery!), on top of travel expenses. Luckily, we were able to stay with Matt’s family, and my mom gave us a gazillion Marriott points we used to stay in Manhattan for a couple nights during the show.

I will also bring an iPod player to have music in my booth. It was so quiet on the pier, except for the rattle and hum of the industrial air conditioner. I think some music will add a bit of excitement and energy to the air! Research shows that people are more likely to linger longer and spend more money when there’s well-considered music playing in the background.

Come See Me at Artist Project NY in March!

 

I will be in New York City for The Artist Project New York from March 17-20. Click the logo above to get your complimentary tickets to come out and see me and my work in person!

Check me out at Booth #130.

In association with the Architectural Digest Home Show: 

The Artist Project New York
March 17-20, 2011
PIER 92 • 55TH ST AT WEST SIDE HIGHWAY.
NEW YORK CITY

Chitta Vritti 02 & 03

Chitta Vritti 02: Night Fire

Mixed media on panel

24x48 inches. 2011

Here are a couple new works in my Chitta Vritti series. See the first one here.

Chitta Vritti 03: You Like Mustard

Mixed media on panel

24x24 inches. 2011

Patanjali, sage and writer of the bedrock text on yoga practice—The Yoga Sutras, begins his famous work with the statement “Yogas citta vrtti nirodaha”. In English, this phrase roughly translates to: “Yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind.” This new series of paintings seeks to juxtapose the chitta vritti (mental chatter) against its opposite (mental stillness). 

Richard Serra: Favorite Famous Artists / Part 7

My first job as a graphic designer out of Cranbrook was working at The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. As soon as I arrived , I was asked to design the invitation to Richard Serra’s retrospective. I’ve read stories about Mr. Serra’s temper and passion, but he was nothing but welcoming and friendly to me when I showed him the comps of the invitation. I was in awe.

I got to walk around behind the scenes as his work was being installed at MOCA at the Geffen Contemporary. If I remember correctly, they had to cut a giant hole in the side of the building in order to get the work inside.

It’s hard to talk about Richard Serra’s sculptures, because they’re better experienced first-hand. I wonder if he has ever been influenced by the slot canyons of Utah’s red rock canyon country. His leaning and twisting surfaces of steel rusting away, remind me of the red iron-stained walls of the natural rock canyons out West.

 The San Rafael Reef, Utah

Little Wild Horse Canyon

My Work Chosen for “Process of Peace” Exhibit

  Jewels of the Mind (01)

Ink on paper mounted on board

24x24 inches. 2010

These two pieces were chosen by curator Sarah McCann for her Process of Peace exhibition at the Towson Arts Collective in Towson, Maryland (just outside Baltimore).

The exhibition will be on view from March 4 – May 20 at the Towson Arts Collective. Since I won’t be able to attend the exhibition in person, if you get a chance to see it please let me know how it looks!

Intertwining Strands of Something ... (06)

Ink and gouache on paper mounted on board
Triptych, 6x19 inches. 2011

Click on the image above to see it larger.

I Dreamt of Things: Dinner in the Sky

 

I dreamt that Matt and I were having dinner high up in the sky atop a small round pedestal.

Jewels of the Mind (continued)

 Jewels of the Mind (06)

Ink on paper mounted on board

24x24 inches. 2011

Check out additional works in this series here and here.

Negative Space Drawing

This week my drawing students were focusing on drawing negative spaces surrounding various objects. One student (Doug) got inspired to not only literally draw the negative spaces around the stools, but also to play with the 2-dimensional positive and negative spaces on his paper.

We discussed the idea of “gestalt” in design/drawing when he presented these drawings. I love the way these leave as much out of the drawing as possible, while still expressing the essence of the objects. With a minimal amount of visual information, the viewer is still easily able to discern the subject of the drawings.

Afternoon Storm / A New Triptych

 Afternoon Storm

Ink on paper on board

19x6 inches, 2011

Francis Bacon: Favorite Famous Artists / Part 6

 Study after Velazquez’s Portrait of Pop Innocent X

This was the first piece I ever saw by Francis Bacon. I was a typical angry teenager, and this painting expressed everything I felt inside. The religious connotations added that extra punch that brought everything home for me, as I was beginning to question the belief systems I had grown up with.

In a previous post, I mentioned my attraction to the juxtaposition of Francis Bacon’s work against that of Piet Mondrian’s [early work]. Both incorporated religious iconography and themes, but the effect on the viewer couldn’t be more different (contemplative/peaceful vs. violent/aggressive). I created a diptych at the School of the Arts that mimicked and highlighted the contradictions present in the two artists’ work. (If I can find those two old paintings, I’ll try to post images of them.)

 I can’t find the title for this one.

I’ve always been interested in the relationships between the physical and energetic bodies (see my yoga practice here), so Bacon's deformed, bulbous forms fascinate me. His interpretation of the body was so twisted, so painful — It seemed like I could really feel, inside my own body and beyond the literal image on the canvas, what was being depicted from an emotional and spiritual point of view. I think the placement of the body in the center of a red, round, unfurnished room adds to the visceral, biological quality of the piece.

Portrait of Lucian Freud by Francis Bacon

Francis Bacon was close friends with another well-known artist, Lucian Freud, and the two bounced ideas off one another and collaborated for decades. Eventually, they began to create portraits of each other. 

Bacon said of his portraits, “I would wish my portraits to be of the people, not like them. Not having a look of the sitter, being them. I didn't want to get just a likeness like a mimic, but to portray them, like an actor. As far as I am concerned the paint is the person. I want it to work for me just as flesh does.”

Portrait of Francis Bacon by Lucian Freud