Art Bitches #1

Celebrity Spot

"I think that one just needs to keep pushing. Things are offensive because sometimes they infringe on other people's liberties but sometimes things are offensive because it catches people off-guard like a surprise and they feel like you didn't give them the time to pick a reaction template that they can perform as a response.
I like the idea that it is the artist's job to prepare people for these types of assaults. I like the idea better that it is artists that instigate these assaults. It is a very contemporary notion if you think about it. Contemporary in the sense that National Security is supposed to be protecting us from the same conflict that they have created-- or the idea that the World Trade Center was a US Government Operation. Its very "conspiracy theorist" which I think people also have a hard time reacting to so they just brush it off." --Britney Spears

just random drivel but...

While working at the art supply store, I was given the task of creating faux christmas presents for a display that we are creating. I was taking off shrinkwrap from one of the gift wrap rolls. I found myself pulling off the plastic but because the plastic was not completely torn, it was snagging. With no scissors at hand, I found myself retracting my actions. Appropriately tearing off the plastic, and effectively taking off the shrinkwrap off the roll.

I know this is not described in the most articulate way but all of a sudden, I started thinking about society and progress and the avant guard. The idea of looking back is an unpopular one in the arts. It reminds me of how Devendra Banhart got a really bad review on portlandart.net because it embodied this idea of retroism. Sometimes I am really frustrated by these ideas that seem progressive at first glance but actually are not. So much frustration that I almost prefer to hear ideas that are blatantly non progressive. More of my frustration comes from the idea that progressiveness is somewhat synonymous with thoughtfulness and criticality.

I guess what I'm trying to get at is that sometimes maybe we need to retrace, re-enact our steps in order to move forward in an according manner?

gif's and the internet

I have been thinking lately about the internet and how it is viewed by artists as this egalitarian medium to convey ideas. Certainly the internet is accessible to alot of people. But still, it isn't something that is accessible to everybody. There are also levels of access to the internet that is based on money. There are things that cannot be experienced by people on a 56k connection that people with faster connections can. These ideas definitely make me think of what it takes for people to look at something as equalizing. Once one gets access to a certain thing, is that when that thing is viewed as a fair consumable. If I am not hungry anymore, is that when I stop being seriously concerned about the parts of the world that are hungry?

I was talking to a canvasser on campus the other day who was asking people to sponsor a kid from another country 22 bucks a month. He was really passionate about it. I asked why their organization always goes to our college campus when most college students are poor and in debt. He told me that college students are more empathetic because they still experience moments of hunger or poverty whereas it is harder to convince executive types that work downtown to donate something because they don't experience those hardships anymore.

This makes me think of bodily memory. When I am sick with a flu or a fever I experience a certain type of pain that I forget once I am not sick anymore. I don't know what that has to do with anything right now but maybe someone has something to add to this..

Anywho, I was thinking about using gif animation as an art practice. There is something about this particular technology that's really interesting in that it is older compared to flash animation, which somewhat makes it easier to make. At the same time it is less accessible because it takes time to load and it has limitations as far as what it can do or communicate.

bad stuff

I want to start not being afraid of showing work that I have made that I feel are failures. I think to say that your work is always great is complete bull. So I will use this blog to continually post work that I have done that I don't like. Here is one. It is an image that I took out of Mabinogi, an MMORPG game that I am currently playing. I was thinking of doing a body of work where I combine my adventurous, virtual self with my real self so I added excerpts from my journal into the image.

I got a new digital camera

So this is the state of my studio so far. I'm trying to experiment with different types of work, inspirations and themes all at the same time. I have decided that this quarter, I will experiment with just doing work impulsively without really calculating a concrete trajectory. My year out of school, I only made one piece of work and while that piece was a slightly huge piece, I still think that I could have done more if I just stepped out of the same mindset that I had in undergrad. I think that making art in school, it is really tempting to try making work that resonates and pleases the instructors. I don't know. Maybe I lost that driving force once I got out of school and nobody was there to say anything about my work anymore. In anycase, this is just a theory but I would like to see if I can change that. Hopefully, once I am out of this program, I won't have the same problem?

Ok so i started late. but im here now.

Now that I'm a legit MFA student, there are three studio things that I would like to get accomplished before the quarter ends:

1. finish at least five works on paper. This is, i think, my biggest priority this quarter. I really like how paper feels and how it feels ok to make mistakes on it.

2. Create work for a window display. This process will begin once the 6th week of the quarter starts. Lately I have been inspired by natural history museum dioramas as well as my existence in this MFA program. i would like to merge both of these ideas together.

3. write a short screenplay. I would like to create a short film inspired by twinship as a metaphor. As for what, I am not sure yet. What I do know is I want Glenn Close to star in it as herself... as well as some really cute monkeys that are really into education. I know that Ms. Close is probably really busy with her role on Damages so I hope we can work something out.

I have a direction I'm going, I just can't put it into words.