"The Cat that caught the canary"

Agnes Denes- Wheatfield

When Agnes Denes ended her statement with, “the power of paradox,” she meant that planting wheatfields in the middle of Manhattan was a contrast between nature and industry. I think her statement is strong in defining her main thesis. Planting that wheat certainly did open people’s eyes to the simplicities of nature which often become showed by the complexities of industry. Although Agnes received mixed emotions about her Wheatfield experiment, she forever left an imprint in the minds of those she affected with her art. Applying a paradox like that to an event seems to help people remember the basic elements of being alive. The public has an opportunity to reexamine life and reprioritize.
Agnes’s writing style is pretty straight forward. She explained her intent, the process, the difficulties in which she endured the finished product, and the final reaction. She made it seem as if she touched a lot of people with just simply planting something as simple as wheat in an area that is the complete opposite of what nature symbolizes. I think that the overall concept stands out. Her event was a complete success. She successfully harvested wheat in central Manhattan while exposing people to the simplicities of growth and nature.
Some similar challenges that I have had when discussing my artwork is trying to express the deep down meaning of it all while also trying to bring my art to a whole. I haven’t made such an impact on society or people’s lives that was so profound like Agnes Denes. When discussing my artwork I feel as if I cannot speak for my art, I must let it speak for itself. I have yet to successfully impact people with my art and it seems like there is a lack of meaning behind my art or at least I’m having trouble trying to express it.
Three necessary elements to formulate a project must start with an overall thesis. What is the artist trying to tell the audience? Another element might be the execution, where will this event take place? What supplies will be needed to achieve success? Another element would be location. In Agnes’s Wheatfield, she was able to find an area that was close to her audience although the area was a dump beforehand she was able to change the ecosystem so that she could make her project successful. All these elements are fundamental to trying to achieve a successful work of art that has both substance and meaning.

Concepts & Practices II

(Heartless)

I am a BFA Art Studio student majoring in photography. I don't limit myself to just photography. I also paint, sculpt, and draw. I take a lot of my inspiration from books and videogames. I have weird obsessions with taboos. I have several weaknesses when it comes to the creative process. I work by the seat of my pants. I definatly don't plan that much when I start shooting. I think it henders me a bit and definatly stops me from achieving the best quality photo. Another weakness would probably be my lack of practice. I procrastinate way too much. My last weakness as a photographer is that I don't have proper lighting equipment for studio shots, so I depend on flood lamps which often washout my subjects. Its a lot of trial and error on my part.

For shits and giggles

Strangelette! ( Kim's new Promo pictures)

Hair and Make up provided by yours truly!

50 years later....

In 50 years, I will be 73 years old. Although the future is uncertain I can only hope that my journey through life is pleasent, or at least have the good out weigh the bad.

At 73 I'll have a family; a husband maybe a kid or two. I will have buried both my parents. My children will have their own lives. At 73 I hope to be retired from whatever career I've had. I will still be making art (I promise). At 73 I will probably thinking back about how I've lived my life and think how stupid I was for worrying about things or making stupid decisions. I hope to be calmer, and have more compassion for those around me. At 73 my tattoos will be as wrinkled as my face. At 73 I will probably be a grandmother. I will probably have to be checked for colon cancer and breast cancer a lot, since it runs in both sides of my family. I hope to only be married once. At 73 I'll be able to go and come as I please, travel far distances, and see the world. I will probably cherish life much more as I come nearer to the end of it. I might have buried my only brother he'll be 78. We will be old farts together. At 73 I can only hope that I will be strong enough to live my life to the fullest. I will be fearless in the presents of death. At 73 maybe I'll look like my mom or my grandmother or maybe neither one. At 73 maybe my boobs will be perky since I hope to get a boob job before I'm 40. By 73 maybe i'll have finally written and illustrated several childrens books. By 73 I hope to be well known in my community for doing something great. I don't want to be your average 73 year old.

Concepts & Practices

Part I

Color can simply be defined as divided light wave lengths. Color comes from the spectrum of light. Primary colors are red, blue, and yellow. Secondary colors are green (blue+ yellow), purple (blue + red), and orange (red + yellow). The tertiary colors are blue violet, blue green, yellow green, yellow orange, red violet and red orange. Black and White usually aren’t considered color they are considered tone. Color comes in hue, saturation, and value. When you combine complementary colors you get a neutral grey. Complementary colors are red and green, blue and orange, yellow and purple. I have no idea how to make a proper brown. Color is expression and feeling to me. When I see a color I feel it, it makes me feel a certain way. I have always associated color with feelings.

Part II

My favorite color is red. I like deep reds. I’m not sure why I like deep reds so much the color just attracts my eyes. My first favorite color choice came when I was in Kindergarten. I loved hot pink that’s when Crayola had those neon color crayons. I think I liked that color so much because it was so bright and it reminded me of my Barbies.

Part III

Part IV

The work of an artist and a curator relate in the way that they both must think of the best way to express the subject of the art work. Some similarities are that they both must envision a cohesive idea to express; they both must arrange the subjects in a unique way while still maintaining some collective unconscious so the view can relate to the piece. Both must be innovative in their approach to presenting the work of art. They are both critique artwork to a certain degree. Some differences are obviously the artist creates the art while the curator displays the art. Curators group art using some sort of system of organization while an artist has no rules there is no need for a system of organization to produce art. When curatorial practices and art practices combine the artist obviously has some idea of piecing together pieces of their own art in order to achieve their set goal for those art pieces. Curatorial practices among artists seem to happen when a new movement of art is happening for example contemporary art. Artists usually curate contemporary art galleries because they understand what and where their piece will be beneficial; how to put it together and how to better express their idea behind their piece. Artists as well as curators know how to arrange art work so that is well lit and properly displayed. Fred Wilsons reshuffling of Maryland Historical Society’s collection and highlighting the history of Native and African American’s in Maryland. His artistic approach of examining, questioning, and deconstructing the traditional display of art and artifacts in museums were innovative. He had an objective to question the limitations of cultural institutions and how they interpret artistic value and history. There is an art to being able to curate, it takes imagination.

Julie- 80's to the maxxx

We raided the closet, and this is the result. Ultimate 80's meets Harajuku..enjoy :D