Marion Glass: Senior Portfolio

Video Self Critique - Spring Midterm

2010-05-06T05:57:00.000-07:00

Whew, almost forgot about this post! Better late than never, I hope.

In watching my critique video from this semester, I noticed that I still seem small and defensive standing next to my work. However, I did notice some positive changes as well. I feel better about the work I'm creating this semester (I've even been excited most of the time), and I think it shows. I appeared to be a lot happier about taking suggestions and hearing what everyone had to say about my collages this time, and some of my nervous habits (oh the lip biting!) subsided a little bit.

Again, I found the critique video to be very helpful for working on my speaking skills and shyness. Having the video also proved to be a useful tool for retaining all of the information I was given during critique this semester.

Lecture: Ted Noten

2010-05-06T05:19:00.000-07:00

I had the privilege of attending Ted Noten's lecture about his jewelry design career on Tuesday. Noten is a Dutch artist who believes that jewelry is anything we wear or carry on our bodies. His work is very conceptual, yet simple at the same time, following his amusing logic and curious thoughts about the world around him.

The title for the first portion of the lecture was "Once a bricklayer, always a bricklayer." Noten grew up working in his father's brick making factory, which is where he said he first realized that he enjoyed working with his hands. He was expected to follow in his father's footsteps by taking over the factory, but grew bored with the repetitive pattern of bricklaying and began making jewelry at the age of 24.

Of his art school experience, Noten said that he originally struggled with the conceptualization of his work explaining that, "When you make a move with your hands, you have to explain to the art teacher why you did it." As a result, his first concepts originated from historical facts that he translated into jewelry form.

More recently, Noten seems to have absolutely no issue with conceptual thinking. In the last few years, Noten has created quite an interesting body of work. His concepts shifted towards things happening directly around him when he started making the "Lady-K" bags. This series is a group of purses made from acrylic-encased weapons - a response to the violence that he saw happening in the world.

Noten is currently working on a new series, titled "Haunted by 36 Women." For this body of work, Noten chose to depict various female archetypes through different animals and objects in his jewelry designs. Some of the pieces that he showed at the lecture included "The Ice Cream Girl," "The Girl Next Door," and "Miss Piggy." This series is being created by huge sketches Noten puts together of life-size objects, that are then 3D printed into jewelry-size miniatures. This process results in beautiful detail and life-like quality in every piece.

Some of my favorites from Ted Noten's portfolio are pictured below. To learn more about him and his processes, please visit his website here.

Ted Noten, Pig Bracelet from Haunted by 36 Women
September 2009

Ted Noten, Mercedes Benz Brooches for Dutch Fashion Awards
November 2007 and 2008

Ted Noten, Lady K Bag Nr. 4
2007

Ted Noten, Lady-K-Bag
2004

Ted Noten, Murdered Innocence
2005

Lecture: Paola Antonelli

2010-04-22T19:21:00.000-07:00

I am so happy that I went to the Paola Antonelli lecture. After a long day of portfolio review and transporting work to and from school, I was tempted to just go home. However, I forced myself to attend the lecture and I loved it.

Paola Antonelli is an incredibly smart and interesting speaker. Her lecture was informative, entertaining, and inspiring. She began her lecture by giving a brief background describing how she came to her job as senior curator of architecture and design at MoMA. After majoring in economics for two years and discovering that it was not for her, Antonelli studied architecture at the Politecnico di Milano. She worked as an architect for a couple of years, before abandoning it for writing. Anotonelli then moved to Los Angeles and taught at UCLA until she applied for and received her position at MoMA. Of all of this career-shifting, she simply says "The path found itself."

Antonelli has found design to be her true passion, and her mission as a curator is to ensure that design is recognized as part of natural human creativity. At MoMA, she strives to make her exhibitions "sexy" to keep the audience captivated - most visitors to MoMA are not there for design, and Antonelli seeks to change that.

During the lecture, she showed images from several of her past exhibitions that were amazing. I'm posting one of my favorite images below, from the Design and the Elastic Mind exhibition, which combined art and science, resulting in amazing and beautiful work. You can learn more about Paola Antonelli here, and visit the MoMA website here.

Extra Post: Image Update

2010-04-10T18:46:00.000-07:00

New collages. Check it out!

Lecture: Richard Roth

2010-04-09T18:55:00.000-07:00

I attended the Richard Roth lecture at Reynolds Gallery last night. Quite honestly, I was not interested in the paintings. However, I found his lecture to be interesting, and even amusing at times. Rather than having a grand and pretentious concept behind his work, he merely said that he found them intriguing, and enjoyed the process of making them. He seemed genuinely happy with his work, and eager to get back to his studio to begin creating again.

Formerly an installation artist, Roth is now working in a new way. He has begun creating paintings on birch blocks, roughly shoebox size. Each block is painted on the front, top, bottom, and sides. They are all completely symmetrical, and primarily consist of black, white, and one other color. Due to their size and the fact that they are painted all the way around, they become almost sculptural and at times create optical illusions.

The biography from Roth's website reads: "Richard Roth is an artist and designer whose work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. In 1991 he was the recipient of a Visual Artists Fellowship in Painting from the National Endowment for the Arts. He received an MFA from the Tyler School of Art and a BFA from The Cooper Union. His work has been exhibited at Rocket Gallery, London; Penine Hart Gallery, Bess Cutler Gallery, Trans Hudson Gallery, New York; the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and Reynolds Gallery, Richmond; Shillam + Smith, London; UCR/California Museum of Photography; the Museum of Modern Art, Saitama, Japan; Feigen, Inc., Chicago; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. He is the co-editor of the book, Beauty is Nowhere: Ethical Issues in Art and Design and co-author of Color Basics. He was the Director of Solvent Space in Richmond, Virginia, 2005 – 2009. He is currently a faculty member in the Painting and Printmaking Department at Virginia Commonwealth University."

For more of Roth's work and other information, please see his website.

Richard Roth, Cowboy Magic
Flashe on birch plywood, 11 3/8 x 8 x 4 inches, 2006

Richard Roth, Angelina
Flashe on birch plywood, 11 3/8 x 8 x 4 inches, 2007

Richard Roth, Happy Hour
Flashe on birch plywood, 11 3/8 x 8 x 4 inches, 2008

Lecture: Christopher Winton-Stahle and Allen Jones for ASMP

2010-04-07T19:14:00.000-07:00

Tonight, I attended a presentation on the ASMP (American Society of Media Photographers) given by Christopher Winton-Stahle and Allen Jones. The information that they gave was very interesting and thought provoking. Chris attributes his success (and he is immensely successful, especially considering how young he is) to his membership with the ASMP and all of the networking opportunities that the meetings provide him with.

After the presentation, I am considering joining ASMP. If I were to sign up before graduating, I could get the student rate of only $60/year, which would provide me with all kinds of benefits, including discounts on photo equipment and the opportunity to list myself as an available assistant on the ASMP website. I am all for anything that leads to employment these days ...

At the end of the presentation, we looked at some of Chris' work. I had actually seen some of this last semester, and I still think it's interesting. I'm posting a couple of my favorites from his "Folk of the Blue Ridge" series below.

Christopher Winton-Stahle, The Lowe Family

Christopher Winton-Stahle, The Davis Family

To learn more about the ASMP, see their website. For more of Christopher Winton-Stahle's work, check out his site.

Research: Color Profiles

2010-04-07T19:11:00.000-07:00

Next week, I will be spending a lot of time in the 215 lab, printing my images. In preparation, I decided that I need a refresher on color management/profiles. See the video below.

Artist: Brandi Strickland

2010-04-04T18:51:00.001-07:00

Brandi Strickland is a collage and mixed media artist working from Charlotte, North Carolina. Strickland graduated with a BA from Queens University of Charlotte in 2007, and has exhibited and published her work extensively in a small amount of time. She has also taught classes and workshops, and is affiliated with the WAFA artist collective.

Strickland's collages are beautiful, colorful, and somewhat fantastical. I thoroughly enjoyed looking through her portfolio of series on her website. Not only does her work relate to mine through medium and technique, but she has the sense of unreality that I have been looking to bring to my work this semester. I admire her use of color, and the fact that I can sense her enjoyment of her own work through each piece. Please see a few of my favorites below.

Brandi Strickland, 16x16, mixed media on board, 2010

Brandi Strickland, Wonder, 12x12, mixed media on board, 2008

Brandi Strickland, Universe Kite, 12x12, mixed media on board, 2009

Brandi Strickland, Intertidal, 12x12, mixed media on board, 2009

One more thing: officially giving her super-cool status, Brandi also runs an online store with her significant other, Robert, and she has an Etsy store. Check those out here and here.

Research: Cubism

2010-04-04T18:08:00.000-07:00

More specifically, how my work has recently been influenced by Cubism, and the definition of Synthetic Cubism.

In recent collages, I have been fragmenting the background to demonstrate some sort of dissolve between fantasy and reality. This new form that my work has been taking immediately struck me as a derivative of Cubism, which led me to this post. Whenever I begin using a term in relation to my work, I like to define it here on the blog (see earlier posts about the definition of collage, escapism, et cetera.)

Definition, per Wikipedia: "Cubism was a 20th century avant-garde art movement, pioneered by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music and literature. The first branch of cubism, known as Analytic Cubism, was both radical and influential as a short but highly significant art movement between 1907 and 1911 in France. In its second phase, Synthetic Cubism, the movement spread and remained vital until around 1919, when the Surrealist movement gained popularity."

My personal definition, through observation, would be that Cubism depicts a scene without the standard use of one-point perspective. The artist seeks to show the subject from multiple angles at once, resulting in the above mentioned fragmentation. For me, it is less about depicting physical perspective than mental perception of a situation (hope that makes sense!)

In reading about Cubism, I stumbled upon the term Synthetic Cubism, which is particularly exciting to me because its definition includes collage. "Synthetic cubism is characterized by the introduction of different textures, surfaces, collage elements, papier collé and a large variety of merged subject matter. It was the beginning of collage materials being introduced as an important ingredient of fine art work." (See Wiki article here.)

I'm posting a well-known cubist piece below, as well as one of my collages that inspired this post.

Pablo Picasso, Portrait of Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, 1910

Entry: Anderson Gallery

2010-03-29T06:50:00.000-07:00

I entered the Anderson Gallery Student Exhibition last week. Sadly, I did not get in. Proof below:

Artist: Fred Tomaselli

2010-03-29T06:26:00.000-07:00

Tom introduced me to Fred Tomaselli's work a few weeks ago in Alternative Processes and Techniques, and I immediately thought of how it related to my Senior Portfolio work through image making technique.

Fred Tomaselli is an American artist known for his unconventional methods and materials for creating his large mixed-media paintings/collages. Most of his works include unorthodox items suspended in resin on wood panels (see Hang Over below, made of pills in resin.)

Aside from the use of collage, our work seems to be related in that it is very personal. My collages speak about my life and feelings, and Tomaselli's depict his interests. Of his work, Tomaselli says "I want people to get lost in the work. I want to seduce people into it and I want people to escape inside the world of the work. In that way the work is pre-Modernist. I throw all of my obsessions and loves into the work, and I try not to be too embarrassed about any of it. I love nature, I love gardening, I love watching birds, and all of that gets into the work. I just try to be true to who I am and make the work I want to see. I don’t have a radical agenda."

Please see a few of my favorites from Tomaselli below, and check out White Cube Gallery's Fred Tomaselli page here.

Fred Tomaselli, Study for Big Hummingbird, 2004
Mixed media, photo collage, acrylic, resin on wood panel

Fred Tomaselli, Hang Over, 2005
Leaves, pills, acrylic and resin on wood panel, 84x120 inches

Fred Tomaselli, Airborne Event, 2003
Mixed media, acrylic paint, resin on wood, 84x60x1 1/2 inches

Research: Photoshop Technique #4

2010-03-25T06:26:00.000-07:00

Last semester, I upgraded to a MacBook Pro(!) and Photoshop CS4. I honestly did not use Photoshop that much last semester, and have only recently attempted to perfect some of my collage images before printing them. Much to my dismay, I realized that CS4 is very different, and I do not know how to use layer masks anymore. This is horrifying, because layer masks are my favorite way of selectively correcting color, exposure, et cetera. So this week I found a video on YouTube that walks you through the new process for layer masking. It's way more complicated now, but still so useful. Check it out:

Entry: Hearst 8x10

2010-03-21T20:01:00.000-07:00

I entered my collages into the Hearst 8x10 contest tonight. Fingers crossed!

Lecture: Sanford Biggers

2010-03-12T10:54:00.000-08:00

I was really happy to have attended the Sanford Biggers lecture yesterday afternoon. Although I was unsure of my feelings towards his method of speaking about his work - I often felt like he was unclear or even unsure in his explanations - and it was slow-moving at times, I enjoyed the lecture, seeing his work, and hearing about his travels and experiences.

An excerpt from his website biography reads: "A native of Los Angeles, California, and current New York resident, Sanford Biggers uses the study of ethnological objects, popular icons, and the Dadaist tradition to explore cultural and creative syncretism, art history, and politics. An accomplished musician, Biggers often incorporates performative elements into his sculptures and installations, resulting in multilayered works that act as anecdotal vignettes, at once full of wit and clear formal intent. Biggers has won several awards including: The Creative Time Travel Grant, Creative Capital Project Grant, New York Percent for the Arts Commission, Art Matters Grant, New York Foundation for the Arts Award in performance art/multidisciplinary work, the Lambent Fellowship in the arts, the Pennies From Heaven/ New York Community Trust Award, Tanne Foundation Award, Rema Hort Mann Foundation Award Grant, James Nelson Raymond Fellowship from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and a Camille Hanks-Cosby Fellowship."

The first work that Biggers showed at the lecture was his collaboration with David Ellis, Mandala of the B-Bodhisvattva II, which consists of a hand-cut linoleum floor inspired by Buddhist Mandalas. The two artists created the floor, donated it to a breakdancing competition in the Bronx, and it has been showing in various museums since. Biggers mentioned that at every venue the floor shows in, they make an agreement that it must be available for dancers to use (see video below.)

After the Mandala, my favorite piece was Blossom, a sculpted tree growing out of an actual player-piano, with Biggers' own version of Billie Holiday's Strange Fruit playing on a loop. This work in particular deals with issues of race and discrimination, and was shown at the Prospect. 1 Biennial, New Orleans in 2007.

Please check out some of my favorite images documenting his work and the videos below, and visit Biggers' website here. His website is very thorough, and includes tons of images from his past and present work, as well as the other videos he shared at the lecture, Small World, and Cheshire.

Sanford Biggers, Blossom, 2007

Sanford Biggers and David Ellis, Mandala of the B-Bodhisvattva II
2000

Research: Paper Types

2010-03-10T17:55:00.000-08:00

After talking to Courtney I discovered that the cost of using the printers at Pollak is only $4/square foot. I think that will work out to be relatively affordable for my purposes, so this week I've been shopping around for rag paper. Below are a few options that I found.

Magiclee Torino Canvas Rag: a highly textured canvas-like paper. 100% cotton, satin surface, and claims to have high color accuracy. The long description on Calumet Photo sounds amazing, but I'm not sure how I feel about the heavy texture. I think I definitely want something that isn't smooth, but I may not want a canvas texture.

Moab Entrada Rag: An affordable option at $119 for a 24"x40' roll. Unfortunately this one has an exceptionally bright white surface and I'm not sure how I feel about that. Some good features include that it is dual-sided, waterproof, and 100% cotton.

Museo Silver Rag: Cheaper option at $149 for a 24"50' roll. Has a semi-gloss look (claims to be like fiber photo paper), is 100% cotton, and claims to have superior tonal range.

Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Satin: Has a satin finish where color is printed, white remains matte. 100% white rag, smooth surface, with good surface variation.

Artist: Rick Begneaud

2010-03-07T07:27:00.000-08:00

In searching once again for mixed media artists, I found Rick Begneaud this week. He creates collages/assemblages using appropriated images, strips of cloth, and paint. I'm drawn to the color and texture of his work, and I particularly enjoy his collages that incorporate a figure, bringing a human element to an otherwise abstract world.

While reading this brief biography found on his website, I made the interesting discovery that Begneaud is Robert Rauschenberg's nephew: The works of Rick Begneaud are born of place and experience. The impetus for his exotic, collaged inventions began in the heart of Cajun country where he was raised, and then later on, in his travels as the nephew / studio assistant / sidekick to the legendary Robert Rauschenberg. Frayed and bold fabrics seem perfectly right next to photographic reproductions and other ephemera, but most indicative of his “paintings” are the reverberating color and the sense of
formal composition turned on its head, leaps of faith that give the work their unique signature.

Gallery Owner, Don LeBlanc, states, “Rick’s got a very contemporary approach to image making. He uses found materials--patterns, fabrics, printed materials, appropriated photographs, diagrams. Ready-mades. He creates his own world on the surface of the work rather than painting a picture of the world.”

Rick Begneaud currently lives in California and continues to create and show his work. Please visit his website here, and check out a few of my favorites below.

Rick Begneaud, Eagle for Now
collage and paint on canvas, 24x24 inches

Rick Begneaud, Fava Prayer
collage, transfer, and paint on canvas over panel, 47x31 inches

Rick Begneaud, Rue
collage and paint on canvas over panel, 39x22 inches

Extra Post: Image Update

2010-03-05T18:06:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to post these collages again. They have been modified since my last meeting with Tom and their last appearance on the blog. I think I like them!

Research: Where to Print

2010-03-03T21:08:00.000-08:00

I know, I've blogged about this before! But things change. In this case: technique, scale, funds, and paper types have all changed. Last semester I was simply looking for a place to print my collage elements - I thought that was all I'd need because I never thought I'd be re-photographing my collages in the end. Surprise, surprise.

This semester, I have spoken to Tom several times about what kind of paper I should print my re-photographed collages on, and we have always come to the same conclusion: rag. It looks and feels weighty, important, meaningful. It's also EXPENSIVE. So ... where to print?

I called Action Photo in Carytown last week and was disheartened (but not surprised) to hear that they charge $55 for an 18x24, which is probably the smallest I'd be willing to go for exhibition prints. I didn't think to ask what an 11x14 would cost, but I'll be sure to do that since that size is far more reasonable for my portfolio box.

On a happier note, I looked at El-Co Color's website tonight and was pleased to see that they are at least a little cheaper than Action. And El-Co seems to be good about giving price breaks on large orders, so if I end up ordering all of my 11x14s from them I could be in good shape as far as expenses go.

The last option I explored was Keith Fabry, on Cary Street. They do not list rag paper as an option, but I know that they do direct printing (printing on just about any surface) which leads me to believe I could bring my own paper in for them to print on. I find this to be the most appealing option. I'd LOVE to go pick out the exact type of paper I want and then have it professionally printed. I can't wait to call them and find out how much that would cost!

So, I now have a few options to try out. I'm going to work on getting some samples together next week, and hope to have a solid plan for my final prints soon.

Artist: WAFA Collective

2010-02-28T21:20:00.000-08:00

Arlie told me about the WAFA Collective early this week, and I was pretty excited to see their collage books. Each piece in the series is a mixed media collage on a child's story book. They are all collaborative works passed back and forth from artist to artist, and each one is completely unique. I love the amount of adding/removing, tearing/gluing that is visible in these images. I think it must be amazing to make something and completely surrender it to someone else to modify. I wish I could let go like that!

This is an unusual artist post in that I cannot really provide information about the individual artists. However, I wanted to post this excerpt from the WAFA website:

"WAFA is a global artist collective dedicated to the support and development of emerging artists. We are a global network of working artists with members in Vancouver, San Francisco, Portland, Rome, Seattle, North Carolina, St. Paul, Sydney, Brighton, and Norwich. Our hope is to bring together a community of artists, united by collaboration, to inspire one another. To have the sense of family and community restored, where we can belong and continue to give value to what we believe in. To have an open dialogue about everything we experience, and the free exchange of ideas, knowledge and tools."

Awesome stuff. See some of my favorites from the collage books below. Please note: titles and dimensions for works are not available on the WAFA website.

Extra Post: Image Update

2010-02-28T21:10:00.001-08:00

I just wanted to post two new collages that I finished tonight. At least I think they are finished - we'll see how I feel about them in the morning. Better yet, how Tom feels about them at our meeting on Tuesday.

I heavily manipulated the background in one, and was hoping to represent a daydream or fantasy with the other. . . Check it out!

Research: What kind of sync cord will work with my Canon?!

2010-02-24T18:05:00.000-08:00

The question is in the title. Now to answer it...

I have had a set of studio lights for years now, but have yet to invest in a cord that will sync them to my digital camera. Silly, I know. So far, I have used them as hot lights (total waste of a strobe!) or had varied success with turning the flash on, blocking it from hitting my subject with my hand, and trying to direct it at the strobes to trigger them. Sometimes it syncs magically, sometimes I get a completely dark image. Inconsistent and inconvenient.

Now that I am re-photographing my collages, it is very important that I be able to use my lights. Using them as hot lights just isn't good enough - even shooting in raw and correcting for white-point, it seems like I can never really get a good white balance on images shot with hot lights (is this just me?) I want more control of my lights, and a true white in my images.

This week, I've been researching the best kind of sync cord to go with my outdated Canon Rebel. I've had trouble with it in the studio in the past - the Nikon hotshoe adapter/Canon combination seems to be very picky about which cord to use. Happily, while researching this week I found a universal, totally wireless option, and it won't break the bank. I'm psyched!

This is what I found: the Wein SSR Unichannel Pro-Sync kit. This kit consists of two pieces - an infrared trigger and sensor. The trigger connects via hotshoe on board the camera, and the sensor plugs into the back of one strobe. This sends an IR signal that triggers the strobe in perfect timing with the camera, and there are no cords to trip over! I'm about to place my order after I shop around to see if I can find a used one.

Artist: Gilbert and George

2010-02-21T09:03:00.000-08:00

So far, Griffin is the only one that has commented on my most recent post to the class blog. In his comment, he mentioned that my new work reminded him of Gilbert and George because of the new grid layout I'm using for my collages (see post below.) Tom introduced me to Gilbert and George a year or so ago, but Griffin's remark inspired me to take another look at their work.

Gilbert and George were first recognized for their Singing Sculpture - they dressed in suits covered with metallic powder, stood on a table, and sang outside, sometimes for a day at a time. They refer to themselves as "living sculpture" and refuse to disassociate art from their everyday lives. Pretty cool (and a little crazy, perhaps?)

When I think of Gilbert and George, their body of work The Pictures is what comes to mind. These are large-scale photoworks that often include the artists themselves, religious iconography, and what some would consider graphic or offensive imagery. These images are so complex and full of meaning that I think the grid becomes necessary for our ability to understand them. I would like the same to be true about my work. For now, I'm enjoying the visual similarities and differences, and trying to figure out what this stuff means! Check out a few of their pieces, as well as a portrait that I'm posting below.

Gilbert and George, England, 1980
118 3/4x119 1/3 inches

Gilbert and George, Life, from Death Hope Life Fear,
1984, 94 1/4x119 1/4 inches

Gilbert and George in their London home, 1987 (Photo: Derry Moore)

I also found this video about their Retrospective on Youtube. It will provide more information and a broader understanding of their work.

Extra Post: Image Update

2010-02-18T11:57:00.000-08:00

I finally have a new image to post for this semester! I'm very excited about it (read about my awesome meeting with Tom here) and happy with the way it turned out.

The Bath, 2010, Paper Collage, approximately 3x5'

Lecture: Hank Willis Thomas

2010-02-16T20:36:00.000-08:00

Hank Willis Thomas' lecture this afternoon was difficult at times - particularly the short film Winter in America from which I'm posting stills below - but he was clever and his work was interesting/thought provoking overall.

Thomas' work commonly deals with issues of race, discrimination, and violence through unconventional methods. I was most moved and saddened by Winter in America - a stop-animation film depicting the last five minutes of his cousin's life before being murdered. In collaboration with another artist - Kambui Olujimi - Thomas used GIJoe action figures to re-create the scene of Songha Thomas Willis' tragic death. Of his decision to use toys for this work, Thomas said he hoped it would be a "goofy, disarming" way to comment on our desensitization to violence, particularly through our toy choice for young boys. He said "In child's play, death isn't concerning - you can always pick them back up."

Though their content is depressing, I find the photographs from Winter in America to be beautiful in their own way - through composition, color, and prevalence of gorgeous lens flares - so I'm posting them below. I'm also including a video interview with Hank Willis Thomas that I found online tonight. Definitely watch it; he's a smart guy and an interesting speaker.

Hank Willis Thomas in collaboration with Kambui Olujimi
Lawrence Watching, 2005, lightjet print

Hank Willis Thomas in collaboration with Kambui Olujimi
Down in the Snow, 2005, lightjet print

Hank Willis Thomas in collaboration with Kambui Olujimi
Here they Come, 2005, lightjet print

Unfortunately, I had to leave the lecture early to take a quiz in another class today, so I was not present when he showed Along the Way, a beautiful photo/video mosaic. I'm glad Arlie told me about it; it's interesting to see how his work seems to be taking a turn towards happier things. Check it out here.

Artist: Thomas Allen

2010-02-13T19:35:00.001-08:00

In Alternative Processes and Techniques on Thursday, Tom gave us a few artists to look to for inspiration. As a result, I fell in love with Thomas Allen. I adore the way he cuts out figures from book covers and constructs - often sultry - scenes around them. What makes them so brilliant and beautiful is the way he lights and photographs them, which is something that I am starting to play with in my own work (hoping to post images of photographed collages soon!) Naturally, I was sitting in that class brimming with inspiration for Senior Portfolio.

I checked out Allen's blog and I was sorry that I could not find out more about him. I'd love to read a statement about his work - if anyone knows where to find one, please let me know. In the meantime, I'm posting some of my favorite images below, and I'm debating over ordering Uncovered - the book of this series - from amazon right now. Check out how amazing these are:

Research: GLUE!

2010-02-11T04:59:00.000-08:00

In light of what happened with my collage before my last meeting with Tom (the glue wasn't flexible and it fell apart when I rolled it up), I thought types of glue would be a good thing to research this week. I mentioned in my post on the class blog that I may not be using glue anymore. However, nothing is certain at this point, so I want to know which kind would be best if I do decide to stick with a more permanent application of myself and Henry on the plane of my images.

Tom suggested checking out Gac by Golden. I searched the Golden website and found that a gel (basically acrylic paint minus the pigment) would likely be the best. The website says: "Soft Gels - Thinner than GOLDEN Heavy Body Acrylic colors, Soft Gels are moderately pourable. Hold only slight peaks. The recommended acrylic to function as a glue for collaging. "

Through my own research, I stumbled upon Yes! Paste by Gane Brothers & Lane. This one sounds too good to be true. According to the Gane website, Yes! Paste is water soluble, non-toxic (very important for lots of reasons, but most importantly because of Henry), and dries clear and permanently flexible. The description even says "It is slow-setting, allowing crafters to reposition and adjust their crafting materials. In addition, is is 100% acid free, making it perfect for archival work, such as scrapbooking. Clean-up is a breeze with Yes! Paste; simply dilute excess glue with warm water." It also claims that it will not wrinkle or curl even delicate materials. And, it's available at Michael's if not Plaza.

Armed with this information, I'm heading out to Plaza and Michael's later today or early tomorrow. It's time to tackle a new collage and (hopefully) head to my next meeting tear-free.

Artist: William Steinman

2010-02-08T08:05:00.000-08:00

I struggled to find someone to blog about this week. I seem to spend every weekend searching for a new collage artist, when I should probably look at more than that. This week I decided to go for a more general criteria - mixed media - rather than strictly collage. After all, mixed media often involves collage, and I'm considering allowing Henry to draw and paint on my collages, which would throw them into that category as well.

This week, I found William Steinman. It's funny that I'm drawn to his work, because it all seems to stem from things I'm not interested in - like graffiti and comic books. However, his Comic Flesh series caught my eye and held it. I'm particularly interested in the function of color in this work, and how all of the various elements mesh on the plane. If I hadn't read the titles, it would have taken me a very long time to realize that these works include images of comic book heroes and villains (look close - they do!)

Steinman explains his process and the origins of his work in his statement:

I have always been addicted to street culture. When I was young, I would take my skateboard out all day and ride around downtown Phoenix. As I explored the city, I began noticing the incredible array of graffiti around me, and seeing all of this sparked something in me. Soon I merged right into the world of graffiti art. I focused on nothing but painting and photographing graffiti. Eventually I began to feel that graffiti was becoming increasingly dangerous and redundant, and then I started studying painting.

Given my early obsession with graffiti, I made a natural progression to the bold lines and appropriated images of Pop art. I found myself more attracted to Warhol’s prints of fatalities and Lichtenstein’s blown up comic images, than to the Keith Harring and Basquiat pieces that my high school art teachers were always pushing on me. Moving to New York after college got me very interested in the work of artists like Richard Prince and Christopher Wool, as well as the everyday art I see on the streets.

I call my work the dark side of Pop. I employ blown up images, modern store bought objects, found materials, lots of comic books, and combine it all together with industrial glue. My work relies on my reaction to the images I find, and my intention is to make each image louder and not so easily overlooked. Just like as with the ready-mades, I let anyone do the work of manufacturing the image, but my work begins in observing and altering it. These newer images can make me nauseous, while at the same time conjuring a feeling of nostalgia—I want to present them this way.

A few of my favorites from Comic Flesh are posted below. Please see Steinman's website for more images and information.

William Steinman, Comic Flesh E
mixed media on acrylic sheet, 26.5x19.5 inches

William Steinman, Comic Flesh D
mixed media on acrylic sheet, 26.5x19.5 inches

William Steinman, Comic Flesh B
mixed media on acrylic sheet, 26.5x19.5 inches

Idea Post: Escapism

2010-02-03T21:51:00.000-08:00

Is escapism bad, or is it a healthy option for a single mother and her child?

Yes, this is my idea topic! I have been thinking about my collages a lot recently (especially because I am working on some of the biggest ones I've ever made for my upcoming meeting with Tom) and I can't help but think of them as a means of escape. Within the confines of a 2-dimensional image, I can play out any scenario my heart desires. I can climb out of the window, run away, eat my child, be tiny, be huge, be lazy, be ... whatever. So, all of this leads me to the question: Is it wrong for me to search for a means of escape, and does it make me less of a super-mom? That question leads to a million more, but I am going to try to stick to the one.

I LOVE being a mommy, even though it is the hardest job I've ever had. However, there are times when I do want to fantasize for a few seconds that I do not have this immense responsibility - at least not all to myself. So, I take these collages as my chance to play out that fantasy. I struggle with this. I don't want people to think that I am looking for a way out or anything like that; I feel bad for even admitting that I look for an escape. But what if it isn't bad? I started researching this question, and I think I have come to the conclusion that it isn't. Maybe I'm just trying to make myself feel better, but I can't help but believe that without an occasional break, we would all lose our minds.

"Retreating to fantasy helps people gather strength to face the real world. It keeps the spirit alive and kicking—and inspires us to confront our problems." - Ethan Gilsdorf from Is Escapism Bad for Us? No. In addition to this very comforting quote, I found the definition of escapism to be encouraging as well. Although escapism is largely considered to be a negative thing, it is also mostly thought of as escape to a technological otherworld, but I am immersing myself and Henry in a real, tactile activity. Through making these collages, I am not zoning Henry out while staring at a glowing screen, but rather involving him in a thought-provoking process, largely made of thinking of our relationship to each other.

Conclusion: I don't have to feel guilty for escaping through my work, especially when I'm taking Henry with me. The process is therapeutic and rejuvenating, and helps me to work through all of the rollercoaster thoughts and feelings that come along with single motherhood. Now, to think of a better word than "escape"...

Artist: Lena Wolff

2010-02-01T10:50:00.001-08:00

I was first drawn to Lena Wolff's paper works because I thought they were gorgeous, somewhat whimsical, and made with impeccable craft. On closer inspection, I have become very interested in the process and meaning behind her collages. I have been toying with the idea of piecing together small collages to make something much larger, and I love that she has done exactly that, to create what she calls "paper quilts." Please read an excerpt from her statement below:

"As an artist I'm informed by an interest in folk art, anthropomorphic fables, allegory, organic abstraction and veneration for the natural world. Working with mixed mediums on paper, I draw from philosophies of the Arts and Crafts Movement and the re-contextualization of textile traditions as much as by contemporary drawing and painting practice.

Using paper-cut, collage and pinpricks on paper, I work to construct textured and layered images that appear otherworldly and fantastic. The pieces with darker backgrounds can appear black in reproductions but are actually a dark metallic gray that is affected by light. These surfaces are made by building up thin layers of dark gray paint on paper which is then rubbed with powdered graphite. The paper is punctured with a needle to create pinpricks and finally hand-painted cut and pasted collage pieces, along with various minute sizes of hole-punched paper are laid on top. By working on the front and back-side of the paper, the surface is handled by hand like fabric as much as paper itself, and often multiple panels are joined in a single piece to make paper quilts. "

I'm posting a few of my favorites from her portfolio below. I highly recommend checking out her website to view them larger, as well as to learn more about her.

Lena Wolff, Twilight Gathering, 2006
Paper quilt: acrylic, graphite, pinprick and collage on rag paper, 84x70 inches

Lena Wolff, Blue Peacock, 2006
acrylic, graphite, pinpricks and collage on paper, 30x22 inches

Lena Wolff, Night Mountain, 2007
Paper quilt: acrylic, graphite, pinpricks, and collage on paper, 44x48 inches, nine panels

Lena Wolff, Untitled (Five Bird Gathering), 2007
collage on paper, 44x44 inches

Lecture: Alec Soth (rhymes with "both")

2010-01-28T06:55:00.000-08:00

Last night I was lucky enough to attend Alec Soth's lecture. I waited until this morning to post about him because I felt I needed the time to collect my thoughts and form an opinion. I thought he was an extremely entertaining speaker, quirky, and had a very dry sense of humor that shows through his work.

I was drawn to the fact that he did not seem pretentious at all; he began the lecture by speaking about his crises of feeling lost and unimportant as a photographer, and even poking fun at his early work. I am not sure about everyone else, but that is something I can relate to.

To counteract his feelings of unimportance, Soth began to seek stories that he could tell through his work. I thought that his series Niagara was the most successful on that level, and the easiest for me to make a connection with. Soth said that he was "moving through time and connecting the dots" by drifting around and photographing strangers to tell their stories. Niagara is a story about love (but not in the cliche sense - though there are many cliches captured in the images) and Soth's general mistrust of new passion. He said the series was constantly "spiraling downward" to a darker level. Niagara was published as a book, which includes stories, letters, and connections between images and people in the back. Below are some of my favorite images from the series. You can see all of Niagara and more of Soth's work at his website, and learn about his self-published works here.

Alec Soth, Would you come home?
Niagara Series, 2005

Alec Soth, Misty
Niagara Series, 2005

Alec Soth, Tricia and Curtis
Niagara Series, 2005

Alec Soth, Rebecca
Niagara Series, 2005

Alec Soth, Two Towels
Niagara Series, 2004

Artist: Joe Ryckebosch

2010-01-24T20:26:00.000-08:00

I just discovered Joe Ryckebosch's colorful collages. They are all created from found and thrifted items, and they have a vintage 70's vibe that I love. I've been toying with the idea of drawing/painting/scribbling on my collages for a while now, but I am seriously entertaining the possibility this semester. These images, with their top layer of color patterns and outlines, really helps to inspire the idea of adding another element to my collages.
About himself and his work, Ryckebosch says "Appropriated and re-mixed works. Memory serves through the years. Memory screens of things seen and unseen. A certain place and time. A view from another angle. A new life for the lost and thrashed. Moved to Portland, OR in 2007 to escape grey confines of NYC. Escaped California to NYC in 2006 only to find myself needing more space. Moved around too much and now need certain rest. Finding it slowly and using the fresh scenery for new projects. "
Please visit his website and Etsy store, and see a couple of my favorites below.

Joe Ryckebosch, Cover Under Color 2009

Joe Ryckebosch, Living Standards 2008

Artist Lecture: Amy Hauft

2009-12-02T17:35:00.000-08:00

Amy Hauft's lecture at the Anderson Gallery tonight was very different from what I have become accustomed to. Rather than showing a progression and evolution of her work over the years, Hauft only spoke about her current installation at the Anderson. The result was a brief and focused lecture that provided a lot of insight to one piece.

Amy Hauft is the chair of the Sculpture + Extended Media Department here at Virginia Commonwealth University. She has been here for six years, and has exhibited her work internationally. She described herself as "an eccentric magnet," saying that "some things stick, and some things don't." She said that her art comes as a result of what she absorbs or discards throughout life.

Hauft works primarily in large-scale architectural installations. At her lecture tonight, she said that she is always seeking to reference a landscape, creating one indoors. Her installation, Counter Re-formation, was inspired by personal experience and an engraving of a dessert table from the Louis XV period. The sculpture is a somewhat serpentine table, and it is interesting to walk around and through. Hauft said that she was very interested by the fact that viewers could walk to the center and "wear" the piece. The very center is somewhat of a vortex, and it is topped by a spiral staircase made of sugar. Hauft said that the vortex is pulling down, while the staircase lifts up, creating an equal pull and balance at the center of the sculpture. In brief, the installation not only stems from some personal thoughts and desires that Hauft had, but it is supposed to be a metaphor for decadence and reform.

Hauft finished her lecture by stating once again that she always attempts to reference a personal physical experience that she had outdoors, by bringing a landscape inside. She said "My work is really futile, because of course you can't really create a landscape indoors. But it's kind of sweet to try."

See an image of Counter Re-formation below. If you want to see it in person, you can find it upstairs in the Anderson Gallery until February 21.

Research: A few more facts and statistics

2009-12-02T16:57:00.000-08:00

This week, I went back to some basic research on single-parenting. It always blows me away to read the statistics and risk factors. It worries me a little bit, but then I think hey, President Obama had a single mom, and he turned out just fine...

On to the facts:
In 2006, nearly 13 million families in the US were headed by a single person, and 80% of those were women. Since 1994, the rate of single-parent families in the US has remained steady, but it has doubled since the 1970s.
Single parent families are at high risk for poverty, particularly if the single parent lacks a college education. Single-parent families are also correlated with negative social, developmental, and physical outcomes for children. However, these effects can be curbed by positive involvement from a supportive friend and family network - but to some parents, this is unavailable. Single-parent families are often the source of social, political, and religious debate. People with non-religious and liberal viewpoints tend to be more welcoming of the changes in family life and structure, while conservatives tend to be more concerned about the decline in marriage and rise in cohabitation. To learn more, read here.

All of these things apply to me, and frankly it looks quite bleak if you only read the statistics. Of course I feel that it is necessary to realize the scope of the situation and have my work informed by it. However, I am really working to bring a sense of lightness and humor to an otherwise overwhelming topic. It is my hope that my collages will be entertaining and fun to look at on the surface, but will provoke deeper thought upon close examination. We will see...

Artist: Michael Swaney

2009-11-28T14:49:00.000-08:00

I am really disappointed that Michael Swaney does not have a blog or any kind of statement on his website, because I want to know more about him. He is a Barcelona-based artist who works in collage, drawing, and sculpture. I am drawn to how childish and colorful the majority of his work looks, while still being complex and meaningful. I found the following brief article about him on Cool Hunting:

Michael Swaney collects "the relics of our consumerist society" and uses them to create bright and busy scenes that are delightfully absurd. The found scraps of paper that he uses are often painted and layered. This manipulation of the stained and discolored papers, not only allows the works to maintain their original aesthetic quality, but also transforms each picture into something fresh. I love that in the chaos of the little scenes, you can always find elements of his quirky sense of humor, often reflected in his unusual titles (i.e. "Polish Situation with Sticks").

Read more here. The images below are from his Performance and Museums collage series. I also highly recommend checking out his colorful sculptures which you can find on his website. Enjoy!

Research: Photoshop Technique #3

2009-11-28T14:44:00.000-08:00

I think I might have messed up by not blogging on Thursday? It was Thanksgiving... Anyways, I briefly discussed the possibility of making panoramas in my last meeting with Tom. If I shot from the middle of my living room while turning around, I could get the full living room, dining room, and part of my kitchen, which I could then fill with a million of myself and Henry. We will see. I am not sure if I would make the panoramas by physically piecing them together (which would probably make more sense, given the nature of my project), or by putting them together in Photoshop. Just in case I decide to go with the latter, I looked up a tutorial in hopes of making up for the missed post. I'm sure Mathew Farris could tell me how to do this better, but YouTube will just have to do.

Artist: Ana Laura Perez

2009-11-21T10:28:00.000-08:00

I found Ana Laura Perez's work this week. Her website wasn't working for me, but you can try it out here. From what I was able to find on her blog, I gathered that she is a fashion/design student in Argentina. Her work that interested me is posted below, and consists of drawing, painting, and collage. The three images below remind me so much of a mother and child that I just had to post about them. I was unable to find anywhere on her blog that she speaks of these images and their meaning, but to me they just feel like the beautiful side of motherhood, childhood, or both. I think they are very pretty, which is a trend I'm noticing among a lot of the work I am posting on my artist entries. I think that must be a response to the feeling that I have about my work and life lacking beauty right now. But anyway, a few of my favorites are posted below. Enjoy!

Artist Lecture: Francis Cape

2009-11-18T19:08:00.000-08:00

I attended Francis Cape's lecture this afternoon, and I had mixed feelings about it. I was frustrated that he skipped around in time a lot - most of the artists that come to lecture go through their work chronologically so that we can see an evolution or progression, but Cape skipped from one work to the next and back again. Aside from being picky over the way he spoke, I did think that the lecture was interesting, as was some of his work.

Francis Cape stated that he used to make "art about art," but that has steadily changed for him since the re-election of George W. Bush in 2004. Since that time, he has become increasingly concerned with the world we live in. He also spoke of his particular concern with the transience of our culture and possessions - he said that artists are no longer making work that lasts, but transient objects to fit in with our society today.

I found his piece, "Waterline" to be the most moving/interesting. "Waterline" features photographs of the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. The images are installed in a gallery, framed and hung above wainscoting made from wood paneling taken from one of the flooded houses. The images (some of which are posted below) show the well defined line that marked the depth of the flood waters. In the installation, the wainscoting comes to the height of the interior waterline in the house it was taken from. Cape said that, in his exploration of the devastated neighborhoods of New Orleans, he was struck by the obvious realization that the tragedy did not just happen in the "bad" or poor neighborhoods, but rather to everyone that lived there. The installation of the wainscoting is important to the viewer's understanding of the overwhelming situation. You can see "Waterline" installed at the Anderson Gallery on Friday.

Research: History of Collage

2009-11-18T18:38:00.001-08:00

I obviously know what a collage is; I have made them at various times throughout my life. However, as I was pasting a collage together today and thinking about the blog posts I needed to make tonight, it occurred to me that I do not know that much about the history of collage. If I am going to spend the rest of the academic year making collages, I feel that I should be well informed about the medium. I did some research, and my findings are below.

Definition: A collage is a work of formal art, primarily in the visual arts, made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole. The term is derived from the French word "coller" meaning glue. The term was coined by Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso when collage became a distinctive part of modern art.

History: Collage techniques have been used since the invention of paper in China, around 200 BC. It became more widespread in the 10th century when Japanese calligraphers used glued paper when writing their poems. Collage appeared in medieval Europe in the 13th century to ornament religious icons and images with gold leaf and gemstones. In the 19th century, collage began to be used among hobbyists for such objects as photo albums.

Regardless of the early appearance of collage techniques, some argue that collage in its proper sense did not arrive on the scene until the early 1900s, when it appeared in conjunction with early modernism. In several art texts, it is stated that collage was first used as an artist's technique in the early 20th ccentury.

Collage in the modernist sense began with painters Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso. It has been extensively used by surrealist artists, and evolved into other forms such as wood collage, canvas collage, photomontage, decoupage, and most recently, digital collage.

Early Examples:

Kurt Schwitters, Das Undbild, 1919

Hannah Hoch, Cut with the Dada Kitchen Knife through the last Weimar Beer-Belly Cultural Epoch in Germany, 1919

The history of collage is very interesting and extensive. To learn more, read here.

Artist: Amy Ross

2009-11-14T18:48:00.001-08:00

Amy Ross uses a combination of painting and collage to create her beautiful work that is both sophisticated and whimsical. The pieces that she creates depict animals morphing into flowers, people morphing into mushrooms, gorgeous she-wolves, and so on. I admit it is a stretch to relate our work (we are connected through the use of collage only), but her creations are so pretty I wanted to post them anyway. To learn more about Amy Ross, read her blog.

Artist Lecture: Shimon Attie

2009-11-11T18:06:00.000-08:00

I absolutely loved Shimon Attie's lecture this afternoon. He was a funny and entertaining speaker, and his work was very interesting and inspiring.

Attie's work seems to commonly deal with themes of past and present, memory and reality, and frequently focuses on the history of various cultures. In his early 1990s project, The Writing on the Wall, Attie projected images of pre-WWII Jewish street life onto the facades of buildings in present day Berlin, Germany. He said he wanted it to be "as if time were burning through the facade of today."

More recently, Attie's work "hovers between photography and the moving image." I was particularly moved by his video installation, The Attraction of Onlookers: Aberfan, an Anatomy of a Welsh Village, in which he sought to help the village of Aberfan move on from its tragic past. I was disappointed that there is no way to access the video online, but I am posting stills and a brief look at the making of the project below. Attie documented the "standard" components of a Welsh village (mayor, singer, bartender, police officer, et cetera) in a way that granted them the anonymity they needed in order to lose their connection to a tragedy they so desperately wanted to forget. Village people were depicted as being able to live in any town free of disaster, yet they were frozen in time, just as Aberfan seemed to be since the avalanche that killed nearly all the town's children in one day (you can read about Aberfan here.) The video plays out very serenely, with the various characters standing in static poses, rotating on a moving set for a minute or so. It is set to very somber music, and I found it to be very powerful. As the figures rotate, perfectly still and expressionless, they almost look fake. However, if you watch closely you will be gently reminded of their humanity by an occasional blink or muscle twitch.

I really wish that I could post the video from The Attraction of Onlookers here, but as I mentioned before I can't find it online. Please see some of my favorite stills and photographs below.

From The Attraction of Onlookers:

From The Writing on the Wall:

Video clip from the making of The Attraction of Onlookers:

Research: Where to Print

2009-11-11T17:55:00.000-08:00

I've been putting a lot of thought into how I am going to put my new collages together. The ones I made before were small, and I actually enlarged them when I printed them as photographs. Now that I have gotten enough feedback to know that the photograph route is not the way to go, I want to make my collages bigger. I think they will have a stronger presence and you will be able to see the edges and rawness of them better.

When I was making small collages, I printed them on standard 8.5x11" paper using my own printer. Going larger raises the issue of where to have them printed. I want to print them large (at least poster size) and on regular paper. In researching my options for this, I think I have decided to go with Staples. They can print on a standard weight paper up to 3x100' in full color, and they can do it very quickly. I think that Staples will be a cost- and time-effective choice, however if anyone else has suggestions, I am open to them...

Artist: Javier Piragauta

2009-11-08T05:31:00.000-08:00

I came across Javier Piragauta, a Colombia-based artist, this week. He appears to make a lot of commercial collage/photomontage. Unfortunately, I can't understand his writing, so I don't know a lot about him. His work is very polished in comparison to mine, but it's inspiring and beautiful. See his Flickr here.

Research: Are Fathers Really Necessary?

2009-11-05T05:43:00.000-08:00

I finally read that article I mentioned earlier in the semester: Are Fathers Really Necessary? from Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Childhood and Society. The article addressed whether or not fathers were necessary in providing children the stability and support they need to grow up "normal" and well-adjusted. Three authors (professors of psychology/sociology) argued that responsible and dependable fathers were in fact necessary, while two other authors (also professors of psychology and sociology) argued that children could receive everything they need from a single parent or "surrogate fathers" in the form of family members and friends.

In reading the two essays from the article, my personal conclusion was that responsible and caring fathers are beneficial, but a child does not necessarily need a parent from each sex to be well adjusted. This makes me feel better about the way I am depicting our situation through my work. I had worried before that people would only see my single-parenthood as a negative, but it doesn't have to be that way. I can be everything for Henry and still expect him to grow up happy and normal, and that is a huge relief to me.

I think the most interesting part of the article for me was the definition of a responsible and reliable father, and what it takes to make one. Ironically, the authors that argued for the need of fathers made it seem almost impossible for a man to be a good father, especially outside of marriage. According to them, it is largely the responsibility of the mother to make sure the father can do his job. At one point in their essay, they say that "in American culture, a woman is a mother all of her life, but a man is a father if he has a wife" (p. 130). I find this claim to be offensive and upsetting. Why is it that fathers are so easily excused from their role, yet mothers are expected to be strong and be there for their children all of their lives? I would personally never think of abandoning my child, but if I did, I know I would be judged much more harshly than any father that did the same.

I found it much easier to agree with the authors that argued against the necessity of fathers. I didn't agree with them because I think that children are better off without fathers (I wish more than anything that Henry could have both parents positively involved), but rather because they did not place ridiculous expectations on mothers. The authors of the "no" side of this article argued that the other authors' "model disproportionately placed responsibility for fathers' involvement with their children on women" (p 147). Instead of doing the same, they ask what responsibility men have for being responsible fathers. I cannot fathom how I am supposed to be a mother to my child while also constantly having to mother his father in order to let them have a relationship. My inability to take care of both of them is one of the many reasons why Henry's father is now absent. There have been times when I have felt guilt over this, but why should I? I do not believe that I should have to be responsible for making someone else responsible.

Anyway, I feel like this is a rambling post, but I am saying all of this to say that I have been reinforced in feeling like I am actually depicting something that can be viewed as a positive in my work. I have made the decision to focus on my child, and I am trying my best to be everything for him. I think that shows in my collages, and I hope everyone agrees. The end.

Extra Post: Midterm Critique Response

2009-11-04T08:48:00.001-08:00

Just for my own reference, I am posting my response to midterm critique here as well. It occurred to me that it won't be long before it will be buried under a bunch of other posts on the class blog, and I don't want to have to dig around to find it.

Marion Glass: Midterm Critique

I thought that my midterm critique went much better than I expected it to yesterday. I read a brief statement explaining the evolution of my work so far (you can find that statement here), and everyone seemed to respond to it pretty well. I was given a lot of useful advice, and Christina even offered up a word that I knew but had not yet thought of in terms of my work - facets. She said I appeared to be "fracturing" myself into multiple facets, and none of them were whole. I think that is an extremely effective explanation for how I feel at times - thanks Christina!

The most useful advice came from several people, and that was to present my collages as collage, and not as photographs. Up to this point I have been photographing my collages as I finish them, in the hope that it would make them more cohesive. It seems like everyone thinks that is completely unnecessary and would prefer to see the rough edges, which is actually a relief to me. I think I will enjoy the freedom of leaving my work open-ended and available for alteration at any time. Tom said that it was ridiculous for me to only allow myself a certain period of time before a piece is "finished" because I am a mom and that is almost impossible (which is so true). He suggested that I keep pasting more and more layers, tear stuff off and replace it with something new, and make the work more raw and real in general. He said that it needs to be me - my feelings - on the wall, and I couldn't agree more.

So, that's all. Thanks everyone for all of your helpful comments!!!

Entry: MyArtSpace Scholarship Competition

2009-11-01T06:15:00.001-08:00

I was a finalist in the MyArtSpace Scholarship Competition last year as well, so I decided to enter that one again, too. I submitted my gallery, "Subconscious" which contains timed exposures of people interacting with (or ignoring) their ghost. Submission proof below.

Entry: Photographer's Forum

2009-10-31T19:42:00.001-07:00

I entered the Photographer's Forum 29h Annual Best of College Photography Contest last year, and am happy to say that I was a finalist and got published in the book. So, of course I entered again this year. Proof:

Artist: Mary Virginia Carmack

2009-10-31T19:06:00.000-07:00

During my constant search for inspiring collage artists, I came across Mary Virginia Carmack. She works with painting, drawing, photography, collage/photomontage, and more. I really love some of her collages, and I especially admire their open-ended feel, which is something that was mentioned as lacking in my work. When I view her work I feel like she could add to them at anytime, yet they do not feel unfinished. Some of her beautiful collages are posted below. See her flickr here. To get to know her, read her blog.

Video Self Critique

2009-10-31T18:55:00.000-07:00

I think it is always a painful experience to watch myself on video; I can't even stand to hear my own voice on any kind of recording. Somehow, I don't think I'm alone in that feeling. However, watching my critique video was not as bad as I thought, and it was very helpful for absorbing and actually remembering what everyone had to say. In the nervous moment of crit, I have a hard time retaining and processing all of that information.

I noticed some nervous habits that I was not aware of (constant lip biting, for one), and in general I think my body language lacks confidence. I seemed small and defensive, leaning against the wall and crossing my arms a lot. I think that is particularly interesting given that there was no need for defensive behavior - the critique went better than I thought it would.

All in all, I think the process of recording and watching critique is very beneficial, and even though I dreaded it this time I will gladly do it again. I hope to work on controlling my nervous habits the next time around, and take more notes! If it had not been for the recording I think I would have missed a lot of useful advice.

Extra Post: Midterm Critique Statement

2009-10-30T13:14:00.000-07:00

Just as a refresher, I'm posting the statement I gave at my midterm critique yesterday:

My work this year is an attempt to deal with, and find humor in, my situation as a single mother. By appearing in my images multiple times, or once surrounded by multiples of my son, I hope to visually communicate that I am his sole caregiver and therefore pulled in a million directions. It is also my hope to convey a sense of liminality through my images, as I believe that I am in a liminal state between where I was, or want to be, and where I have to be.

I started out wanting to document some of the lonely and overwhelming moments I frequently encounter since being left alone in the parenting world. I pieced my images together in Photoshop, but none of the "mes" were interacting with each other. As a result, my first images were lonely and depressing, and almost depicted my child as more of an emotional burden than anything else. In addition, I was over-planning my shoots, separating them from my everyday motherly routines, and they were actually causing me to need a babysitter to keep Henry in the next room, so that he wasn’t part of what I was doing until it was his turn to be in front of the camera. That was not what I wanted at all.

As the semester progressed, I encountered a lot of technical difficulty in piecing my images together, and I was kind of forced by a dead computer to take a different approach. I started making my shoots more organic, taking pictures with a remote while going about my daily routine and interaction with Henry, and I began to physically cut and paste my images together, turning my photographs into collages. This allowed me to truly make my work about motherhood rather than acting for the camera, and I feel that the collages are functioning as a better metaphor for liminality than pristinely Photoshopped images would. They are also better able to communicate that, even though I’m the only parent, I have fun and I love what I’m doing.

I have struggled with this work all semester, and I continue to do so. I would love to make something that is visually beautiful, and these collages certainly aren’t. But they are about my life, and that isn’t exactly beautiful right now either. However, at the end of the day I come home to a person that loves me unconditionally, and I love being his mom, so I’m embracing the situation and embracing this work and I hope that it shows through my finished images.

Research: Multi-Tasking

2009-10-29T05:32:00.000-07:00

Everyone has to multi-task to some extent. Not only do I find myself constantly multi-tasking for school (going to class, studying, shooting, image editing, writing papers, etc) but I have to multi-task between my academic career and my role as mother (feeding, cooking, changing diapers, changing clothes, washing clothes, cleaning, picking up toys, playing, putting down for naps, comforting, reading stories, etc). Needless to say, it is extremely difficult.

In my images, I appear multiple times to try to demonstrate the constant activities/tasks I perform in taking care of my son. In the image where Henry appears as multiples and I am only there once, I am trying to demonstrate the energy he puts into everything he does, seemingly effortlessly, and my inability to keep up at times. Thinking about all of this led me to research multi-tasking.

Human multi-tasking or multitasking is the performance by an individual of appearing to handle more than one task at the same time. Some believe that multitasking can result in time wasted due to human context switching and apparently causing more errors due to insufficient attention. Since the 1990s, experimental psychologists have started experiments on the nature and limits of human multitasking. It has been shown multitasking is not as workable as concentrated times. In general, these studies have disclosed that people show severe interference when even very simple tasks are performed at the same time, if both tasks require selecting and producing action. Multi-tasking has also been shown to have a negative effect on happiness, as it only allows you to skim the surface of activities rather than give them your full attention. (See the article here.)

I feel that the definition and explanation above are pretty accurate for describing the way I feel about my constant juggling of various things. I find it extremely difficult to give my full attention to anything, but more often than not I give it to Henry, ignoring my homework and other daily tasks. I struggle with this because while I want to be a great mom, I want to keep up the grades I have worked so hard for over the last three years, I want to keep my house clean, I want to get enough sleep, and it goes on and on.

Hopefully my collages are depicting this multi-tasking struggle effectively. My midterm critique is this afternoon, so I guess I'll find out...

Image Update

2009-10-25T20:51:00.001-07:00

Finally, as promised, here are some of my collages. I'm trying to trust myself that they are what I wanted, but I honestly can't wait for critique to get some feedback...

Artist: Clare Murray Adams

2009-10-25T06:11:00.000-07:00

I started looking at Clare Murray Adams because I had heard of her collage work, but found myself more drawn to her fiber pieces. She considers herself to be primarily a fiber artist, but incorporates collage, found objects, and encaustic paints on the surfaces of her fabric works. In viewing her work I detected a lot of themes of femininity, fertility, and domesticity, but here is what she has to say in her artist statement:
"My work is often related in theme to aspects of memory, family history, spirituality, gender, time and space. While the specific occasions of memory are often of a personal nature, the themes and imagery have a universal appeal. My goal in making art is to explore process while allowing intuition to have its say."
I think of her work as being more of an experimental approach to collage, whereas my collages have been very straightforward. I would like to be brave enough to draw/paint on them, but I'm not sure how that relates to my concept unless it looks childish, and I won't know how I feel about that until I do it. Anyway, see a few of Adams' fiber pieces below.

SoulDoll

Four Days in May

Ticklish

Research: Child Art

2009-10-21T20:56:00.000-07:00

During Griffin's midterm critique on Tuesday, Tom mentioned the term "Child Art." I was immediately curious as to whether this term applied to my work right now or not, so I did some research on the definition. The definition that I found right away was pretty narrow, as follows: "Child art is the drawings, paintings and other artistic works created by people under the age of 12. It is also referred to as 'children's art' or the 'art of children'. The term 'child art' also has a parallel and different usage in the world of contemporary fine art, where it refers to a sub-genre of artists who depict children in their works" (see article here).

I tried to find more information on this term, but what I found was mostly centered around art therapy in children that have been diagnosed with Autism or come from abusive homes. None of that applies to me.

Even though I could not find much information, this was not a waste. I still feel that I can confidently apply this term to my work - all of my images will contain Henry, and some may actually be manipulated by him - and any language that I can find to help describe what I am doing is helpful. Add this to the list of words I've been compiling for my project and it just might be taking shape...

Artist: Henry Darger

2009-10-18T05:29:00.000-07:00

Last week, Tom suggested that I take a look at Henry Darger's work, and I loved it so much I decided to make it my Sunday blog. Henry Joseph Darger, Jr. was a reclusive American writer and artist. He has become famous for his posthumously discovered 15,145-page, single-spaced fantasy manuscript called The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Caused by the Child Slave Rebellion, along with several hundred drawings and watercolor paintings illustrating the story. Darger's work has become one of the most celebrated examples of outsider art.
In 1968, Darger became interested in tracing some of his frustrations back to his childhood. It was in this year that he wrote The History of My Life, a book that spends 206 pages detailing his early life before veering off into 4,672 pages of fiction about a huge twister called "Sweetie Pie," probably based on memories of the tornado he had witnessed in 1908. He also kept a diary to chronicle the weather and his daily activities. Darger often concerned himself with the plight of abused and neglected children; the institution where he had lived as a boy was brought under investigation in a huge scandal shortly before he left and he might have seen victims of child abuse in the hospital where he worked. (Read more here.)

In looking at Darger's work, I found that it was somewhat related to mine in terms of content (children), and technique. His paintings and drawings immediately remind me of collage, and they are a good source of inspiration for composition. I have been contemplating drawing on my collages, or allowing Henry to have a hand in them, and Darger's work definitely encourages me to at least try it out. Check out some of Darger's work below:

Research: Master Narratives

2009-10-15T06:23:00.000-07:00

As I continued to read Single by Chance, Mothers by Choice: How Women are Choosing Parenthood Without Marriage and Creating the New American Family by Rosanna Hertz this week, I learned about the concept of what sociologists refer to as a "master narrative."

According to Hertz, "Master narratives describe something that may once have been real but which has, over time, grown beyond its original proportions to become both the stuff of legend and a powerful form of social control. Through repetition, master narratives insinuate themselves into the cultural fabric, even when the ideal is rarely seen in reality" (p. 54). The ideal American family, complete with mother, father, children, and white picket fence, fits the role of a master narrative very well. I do not know anyone that has a perfect family, regardless of the parents' marital status, though it seems to be something that we all strive for.

For me and Henry, the ideal seems unattainable, yet the more I hesitate at this threshold of fully embracing my role as single mother, the more I become aware of the social constructs around me, and the more I long to fit them. According to Hertz, this is not unusual. "Single mothers are not out to change the world. In fact, they work diligently on behalf of their children, patching together a life that resembles the so-called normal middle-class family. Like all mothers, they strive to raise an acceptable child and to organize an acceptable family life" (p. 55).

As I consider my situation both in terms of my work and everyday life, I am constantly reminded of a concept I learned as a child: creating a "new kind of normal." As young children, my older brother and I shared a bedroom for a couple of years, and every night we would listen to "Odyssey" - a Christian radio program we had on CD that told funny stories geared at children and filled with moral values. The one I remember most was about dealing with change, and finding normalcy and happiness in a new situation. This is a challenge we are all faced with from time to time, and for me right now it is proving to be a slow and difficult process. Though I may actually be the happiest I have ever been in some ways - I absolutely adore being a mother! - I struggle to feel "normal," however abstract and subjective that feeling may be.

In the collages I have been working on (and will post soon, I promise!), I think these feelings are definitely coming across. It is not difficult to think of how cutting and pasting is a metaphor for fitting in and feeling normal. The difficult part is finding the language to express these feelings, and I feel like I have been making progress in that area lately. I continue to feel a new surge of inspiration and excitement for this project, and I am looking forward to seeing it through the rest of the year.

Artist Lecture: Brian Ulrich

2009-10-14T20:49:00.000-07:00

I was very excited by Brian Ulrich's lecture this afternoon. His images of big box retail stores, abandoned shopping centers and malls, and portraits of consumers are pristine and insightful. Ulrich's subtle commentary on our American consumer culture is savvy and visually interesting. By using film and shooting with a medium format, 4x5, and 8x10 view camera, Ulrich is able to create large and immensely detailed prints that are absolutely gorgeous. As he explained in the lecture, the richness of the film lends a sense of importance to photographs of even the most mundane objects.
My personal favorites were from the Dark Stores project, in which Ulrich explored and documented once thriving businesses that are now desolate. As I was viewing these images, the term liminal (from my research post below) kept coming to my mind. It struck me that I felt an affinity for the places depicted in his imagery because they are stuck in a liminal space just like I am. Once bustling and now forgotten, places such as Circuit City, Value City, and many others can now be found on the threshold between past and future. Other people viewing the work may not have gotten the same feeling at all, but for me, Ulrich's images spoke about the liminal state of being between want and reality. Below are a few of my favorite images from both Retail and Dark Stores.

Artist: Julien Pacaud

2009-10-11T04:45:00.000-07:00

Now that I am thinking about piecing my images together through collage rather than Photoshop, I spent a lot of time looking for artists that work with collages. I found a lot, but their work was generally crazy and did not apply to mine at all. Finally, I found Julien Pacaud, but unfortunately I only found a lot of images, and not a lot of information. However, I decided to blog about him anyway. His work is generally surreal, vintage feeling photo montage. While they all seem to hint at something darker, the first impression of all of his work is somewhat whimsical. Occasionally, his images portray children and families, so our work is related at least through content. I enjoy how his collages are not overwhelmingly cluttered with images like a lot of the others that I found were. They are bold, but simple at the same time. Check out the images below, and see more of his work here.

Artist Lecture: Anders Ruhwald

2009-10-08T19:59:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, I did not find myself particularly inspired by the work of Anders Ruhwald. His lecture was dry and a bit hard to follow, and his work just did not appeal to me personally. In looking at his website, it seems that Ruhwald typically creates sculpture that represents everyday household items - like the chair and mirrors below - in less than typical materials, colors, and situations. While he does this with great skill and devotion, and I can admire him for that, I am not excited by his creations. However, I did find the starkness and contrast of his all black installations in all white rooms interesting (even beautiful for their graphic qualities as photographs.) I am including a few images from "If all man's objects were well designed, joy and harmony would emerge eternally triumphant" below, which are perfect examples of this work. I wish he had gone into more depth on this work, as I think I might have thought differently at the lecture if he had. Please see the images below.

Research: Liminality

2009-10-07T19:42:00.000-07:00

I recently started reading a new book, Single by Chance, Mothers by Choice: How Women are Choosing Parenthood Without Marriage and Creating the New American Family by Rosanna Hertz. The book explores the stories of several single mothers, what brought them to that situation, and how they are finding their place within it, as well as the societal and psychological implications of their choices and lifestyles. According to the earliest chapters, many women choose to become single mothers in spite of our society's expectations of love-then-marriage-then-children due to their inability (or lack of desire) to sacrifice their independence to a mate. Hertz states that "The combination of priceless children and the tenacity of compulsory motherhood's hold on women is the driving force behind many women's intense desire for children,a desire that collides with the reality of their independent lives. In order to defuse this conflict, women must form a new kind of family, of which mother and child form the core, as they try to make sense of the gradual dissolution of the nuclear family" (pg 5).

That was just one little bit, and it is a very interesting read, but the real point of this post is that through Hertz's book I was (re)introduced to the idea of liminality, and it occurred to me that I myself am in a sort of liminal state.

Liminality (from the Latin limen, meaning "threshold") is a psychological, neurological, or metaphysical subjective, conscious state of being on the "threshold" of or between two different existential planes (see Wiki article here). According to Hertz, a liminal state for a single mother is "a period of uncertainty that can last for months, even years, during which a woman's identity is suspended between the person she was and the person she wants to be" (pg 24). For me, this can be directly related to the fact that I had a partner, I was not only a mother, but a person in love. Now that aspect of my life has been removed, and I am left alone in the world of parenting. This is not where I would ideally be, but I love my son and must embrace the situation for his sake (and my sanity.) I am clearly at this place of being in between, and it is time to sink or swim.

I am excited about being able to apply a word to these feelings that I have been having and trying to express, and I think I have come to the realization that I have not been expressing myself effectively through the Photoshopped images I have been posting so far. I am now considering taking a different approach - collage - that I feel will not only open a whole new realm of possibilities for my images, but also help to convey this liminal space that I am currently existing in. In the collaged images I am going to start making, I will most likely appear to be disproportioned and oddly fit into the spaces I will occupy with Henry - but that is how my life is right now. There are a few things in life that I am absolutely certain about - such as the fact that I love Henry more than anything - but for the most part I haven't quite found my place. However, I am quickly walking towards it. I will post new images as soon as I can! I am starting to get excited. It's about time. . .

Artist Lecture: Penelope Umbrico

2009-10-06T14:37:00.000-07:00

I thoroughly enjoyed Penelope Umbrico's lecture yesterday. Not only was I inspired by her work itself (the Flickr Suns, empty mirrors, and backwards books were gorgeous!), but by her obvious passion and enthusiasm for everything that she creates. I was particularly entertained by the irony of the way her work - which often speaks about absurdity in our culture - brings absurd actions like obsessive collecting/archiving into her life. I was very impressed by the fresh and relative appearance of even her oldest works, and her ability to bring beauty to all of her conceptual pieces - which is something that I personally struggle with. It completely blows my mind to think of working in such a meticulous and thoughtful manner - collecting hundreds of magazine/catalog clippings, craigslist ads, and ebay listings, as well as performing endless research - but it clearly works for her and the effort shows through in her work. Not only did I find Umbrico to be an extremely inspiring artist, but a very entertaining and thoughtful speaker as well. I was not ready for her lecture to end! Please see a few of my favorites from her work below.

Artist: Charles Spearin - The Happiness Project

2009-10-03T11:03:00.000-07:00

At my last meeting, Jeff and I discussed the possibility of recording the words that Henry says and piecing them together to make full sentences. It is an interesting idea, but I am not sure how to incorporate it. Jeff suggested that I take a look at Charles Spearin's The Happiness Project. Spearin asked friends, relatives, and neighbors to talk about happiness, then paired the natural melody of their speech with musical interpretation. Check out the video below.

Image Update

2009-10-03T10:57:00.000-07:00

Just for reference, I'm posting the image I most recently added to the class blog below. The Photoshop work is not very good, but that's another story. With this image, I tried to show the more humorous side of single motherhood.

Research: Computer Shopping

2009-09-30T19:34:00.000-07:00

This morning, my Senior Portfolio project ran into a serious snag: it seems my computer is no longer capable of running Photoshop efficiently. I have a 4-year-old Dell laptop (yes, a PC), and it has been slowly dying for a while now. Today was the last straw when it took over a minute for Photoshop to perform such a basic task as zooming in, and the screen cut off before my image could be saved (a process I had already been waiting over five minutes for.) It's really very pathetic. Since my work this year is Photoshop-heavy, I do not see how I can manage to complete it with the computer I already have. So, my research today was all about which computer to buy. I have absolutely no money to spend on a new computer, but I've been shopping around a bit and I may have to give in and put it on my credit card (eek!) Below are the options I found today.

1.) A desktop PC. Not convenient, stylish, or fun by any means, but practical and the best value. This Acer will run faster and stronger than any laptop in the price range I was looking at, and a huge bonus is the gorgeous monitor it comes with.
2.) An all-in-one desktop PC. This is an interesting option. Closer to a laptop but not portable, and definitely more fun than a regular desktop (it has a touch screen!) And it's cheaper, which helps a lot. Unfortunately, this MSI Wind Top has the disadvantage of being non upgradable, and it has limited memory, which means it would probably run Photoshop a little slow. 3.) A Toshiba laptop. This option is extremely affordable and runs well (my younger brother has one.) The only real drawback I see is that the screen resolution is pretty low, and that is something I am not used to. The one great thing about my Dell is that it has a high res widescreen. I would really miss that feature if I were to buy this Toshiba. Keeping it on the short list, though.4.) This option is my favorite: a certified refurbished (by Apple, so I trust it) MacBook Pro!!! It's several hundred dollars cheaper to buy the refurbished one, and this model fits the specifications that I wanted (including the 13" screen and 4.5 lb weight.) This is the most expensive option on my list, but it is also the only one that excites me. I have been dying to switch to Mac. We will see...Hopefully I will make a decision and purchase one of these soon; then I will be able to start editing images as quickly and easily as I want to. In the meantime, I am going to continue to push my PC as hard as I can and try to make it work. I have so many images to layer on top of each other!

Artist: The White Stripes - Michel Gondry

2009-09-27T05:31:00.000-07:00

This week, I thought I'd point out the music video Michel Gondry directed for The White Stripes' song "The Hardest Button to Button." The song itself does not have much to do with my concept (although it is about a child trying to find his place in a family after a new child is born, which could be a metaphor for my work) but the technique used by the director is directly related, as you will see when you watch it.

"The video utilizes pixilation animation to create the effect of dozens of drum kits and guitar amplifiers multiplying to the rhythm of the song as Jack and Meg perform. For example, in one sequence, Meg is seen playing the bass drum at a subway station. At every beat she plays, she appears with a new bass drum while the last becomes vacant. This was achieved by first setting up a trail of bass drums. Then, Meg would be filmed performing a single beat on the last drum in the line, followed by the removal of that drum. Meg would then proceed to the next drum, play another beat, and so on. The final video is edited to include the drum beats with the sequence reversed, making it appear as if the drums are being added to the beat, appearing out of thin air. As many as 80 identical bass drums and Fender guitar amps were used in the video." - Wikipedia

I think that the crazy clutter produced by the performance in this video is a good example of the humor and absurdity that I want to bring to my new images. Besides that, it's a good song. Enjoy!

Research: Another Photoshop Technique

2009-09-23T16:05:00.000-07:00

I know I said I was going to write about an article I was reading this week, but I decided to address a technical issue instead. As I've been piecing my images together, I've run into a few Photoshop challenges. The main concern is hair. It is so hard to select and keep realistic-looking!!! So, I found another tutorial that is hopefully going to help me out.

Artist: Sally Mann

2009-09-19T18:48:00.001-07:00

During my last meeting with Jeff, he reinforced the fact that I need to surround myself with work by other artists. If you read my post on the class blog, you know that we discussed at length my tendency to separate the artist me from the mother me. It's a bad habit. In order to let the artist show through in my work, Jeff said I needed to be drawing inspiration from other artists all of the time. This is something that I know, but have a hard time accomplishing. When I told him that, Jeff suggested that I first take a look back at artists that I had already discovered and been inspired by in the past. I took this advice to heart.

Sally Mann: we all know who she is, and I even met her once (Griffin did too!) I received my first book of her work, Deep South, from a very dear friend when I was about 16. She has been one of my favorites ever since. I don't know why it never occurred to me to look at her work from the artist-as-mother perspective before, because it seems so obvious to me now. She is a prime example of someone who is both an artist and a mother, and would never compromise on either position - instead, she marries the two. In her book, Immediate Family, published in 1992, Sally Mann displays black and white images of her three young children. The content of the images was controversial (nude children, themes of death and isolation among other more normal childhood circumstances) but she was undeterred. As a mother, she knew she was depicting her children naturally, and as an artist, she knew the best way to present them in a universally and aesthetically appealing manner. She considered the photographs to be "natural through the eyes of a mother, since she has seen her children in every state: happy, sad, playful, sick, bloodied, angry and even naked" (Photographers and photography. "Sally Mann: Mother and American Photographer").

Before becoming a mother myself, I was unsure how I felt towards this body of Mann's work. Now, however, I feel that I can agree with her about the images coming naturally, and I understand that she would not have given them a second thought. I would hesitate to photograph my own child in this manner for display to the world, but I do not think of her negatively for doing so. I love this body of work, and I admire Sally Mann for more than making the best of motherhood. Not only did she create beautiful and lasting images, but she spent time with her children in the process. A few of the images from Immediate Family are posted below.

Jessie at Five, 1987

The Last Time Emmett Modeled Nude, 1987

Fallen Child, 1989

Emmett, Jessie, and Virginia, 1989

Research: Some Numbers

2009-09-17T08:07:00.000-07:00

The fact that I needed to blog before 9AM today completely slipped my mind. I'm sorry - I won't let it happen again! I did some very general research on single parent families/single mothers this week. Even though the research I've been doing does not directly play into my images, the hope is that it will eventually begin to inform them, causing them to evolve into their final form. Below are my findings from this week.

I have mentioned several times that I feel alone. Not only do I feel alone in my parenting because I lack a partner, but alone as a single mother in general. I know this is not the case, that there are plenty of other women who share my circumstances in the world, but until now I was not sure what the percentage was. Only 13% of school-aged children live with single mothers that were formerly married (Berger, The Developing Person, Eighth Ed., p. 384).I know that number does not include children that are Henry's age, but I still feel that it relates. On the one hand, that number feels large, but when you are part of it, it seems staggeringly small. 24% of White, non-Hispanic parents with children under the age of twelve are single mothers (Berger, The Developing Person, Eighth Ed., p. 388). This number is larger, but does not separate mothers that were never married from mothers that are estranged/divorced from their husbands. I take comfort in this greater number, but at the same time I find it to be devastating. In fact, according to Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Childhood and Society compiled by Diana and Robert Del Campo, "There are over 7.5 million single mothers raising children in the United States today." This staggering number not only helps to demonstrate that my feelings of being alone are somewhat unfounded, but forces me to ask several questions of myself. What makes me feel like I am so special and unique in my situation? If it is so common, why is there such a stigma against single motherhood? What can I do to connect with the other members of my social minority, and make a difference? How do we overcome the situation? Since single motherhood is occurring everywhere all of the time and often not by choice, why are the single mothers blamed? These are questions that I will use to fuel future research. I am currently reading an article from Taking Sides that answers the question Are Fathers Really Necessary? from opposite ends. Next week, I will post my findings from that. Until then. . .

Image Update

2009-09-12T20:21:00.001-07:00

Just for reference and because I realize I haven't spent much time talking about what I'm actually doing on this blog (I use the class blog for that, I guess), I'm posting my first sample image below. It needs refining/reworking, but I think it is a good demonstration of what I have in mind.

Artist: Mary Cassatt

2009-09-12T19:59:00.000-07:00

In our first meeting, Tom suggested that I take a closer look at Mary Cassatt's work. I knew that her name was familiar from an art history course I took freshman or sophomore year, but I only vaguely remembered who she was. So, I finally got around to taking Tom's advice this week.

Mary Cassatt was an American painter and printmaker, though she spent most of her adult life in France where she was friends with Edgar Degas and exhibited with the Impressionists. The subject matter in a lot of her work involves the private lives of women - particularly their relationships with their children. The content of her work appeals to me and applies to my work for obvious reasons, but a less obvious reason that I am able to relate to her and her work is that Cassatt identified herself with the Impressionists - a group of artists that were considered to be radical and outside of the norm, much as single mothers are viewed in some circles to this day. Of the Impressionists, Cassatt once said "We are carrying on a despairing fight & need all our forces" (Nancy Mowll Matthews, Mary Cassatt: A Life, 1998). That quote reminds me of the feelings I have at the times when I feel completely alone, which are the times that make me want to create this work, to figure out the ways in which I am not alone, to pull together all my forces, and to carry on. See some of Cassatt's work below.

The Child's Bath, 1893

Under the Horse Chestnut Tree, 1898

The Boating Party, 1893

Research: Animal Parenting Styles

2009-09-09T16:57:00.000-07:00

During my meeting with Tom yesterday, he mentioned the possibility of researching how various animals cope with single parenting, orphans, and so on. This idea was very appealing to me, especially because it seems that most animals are single parents, and they do just fine. Of course, those animals are completely different from me, but I can relate to them on some base level. So, I took a closer look at a few animals, two of which I will discuss below. For some of the animals I looked at, single parenting is natural, for others it is something that can be overcome, and for a few, it could mean the end.

1. The Emperor Penguin

First of all, I'm a big fan of the film March of the Penguins. If you haven't seen it, you are really missing out. Emperor Penguins are amazing majestic creatures, and the care that they provide to their young is so selfless that it puts some human parents to shame. Here is an excerpt from a Wikipedia article that goes into some detail on the Penguins' breeding/parenting habits: "Emperor Penguins use a particular spot as their breeding ground because it is on ice that is solid year round and there is no danger of the ice becoming too soft to support the colony...At the beginning of Antarctic Summer, the breeding ground is only a few hundred meters away from the open water where the penguins can feed. However, by the end of summer, the breeding ground is over 100 kilometres (62 mi) away from the nearest open water. In order to reach it, all the penguins of breeding age must traverse this great distance. The penguins practice serial monogamy during each breeding season. The female lays a single egg, and the co-operation of the parents is needed if the chick is to survive. After the female lays the egg, she transfers it to the feet of the waiting male with a minimal exposure to the elements, as the intense cold will kill the developing embryo. The male tends to the egg when the female returns to the sea, now even further away, both in order to feed herself and to obtain extra food for feeding her chick when she returns. She has not eaten in two months and by the time she leaves the hatching area, she will have lost a third of her body weight. For an additional two months, the males huddle together for warmth, and incubate their eggs. They endure temperatures approaching (−62 °C (−79.6 °F)), and their only source of water is snow that falls on the breeding ground. When the chicks hatch, the males have only a small meal to feed them, and if the female does not return, they must abandon their chick and return to the sea to feed themselves. By the time they return, they have lost half their weight and have not eaten for four months." If either of the parents were to disappear, the Penguin chick would freeze to death whether it were hatched or not. If the male left before the female could transfer her egg to him, she would be forced to abandon the egg or starve to death. If the female did not return after leaving her egg with the male, she would be faced with the same terrible decision. In the Emperor Penguins' case, parenting as a team is imperative to the survival of the chick.

2. The Bottlenose Dolphin

The female Bottlenose Dolphin is a natural-born single mother. Male and female Bottlenose Dolphins that are sexually mature live seperately - the females live in a group while males tend to live alone or with only one to two other males. Between ages 5 and 13, the female Bottlenose Dolphin becomes sexually mature and may reproduce every two to six years after that. A Bottlenose Dolphin is pregnant for twelve months, and nurses and cares for her offspring for eighteen to twenty months after birth. While she may have assistance from another female or even a male dolphin as she gives birth, it appears that the responsibility of caring for the calf is solely hers from that point on. Though female dolphins generally live in groups with other females - referred to as pods - they are all busy caring for their own young and do not share maternal duties. After weaning their calves, female Bottlenose Dolphins maintain a relationship with them for several years. The dolphin mother is not adversely affected by her status as single mother, in part because it is only natural for her to be that way, but perhaps also because she is not truly alone, but surrounded by a supportive group of others in her exact situation. For more about the Bottlenose Dolphin, see the Wikipedia article here.

Both of these and other animals that I read about related to my situation as a single parent in many ways. The general feeling that I got was that my circumstances could be worse, like the rather desperate predicament the Penguin parent would be in if it suddenly found itself to be single. On the other hand, the Dolphin handles the situation with ease because it comes naturally. At any rate, this research is further confirmation that I am not as alone as I sometimes feel, and I will continue to search for a way to convey that in my work.

Artist: Alyson Belcher

2009-09-05T20:35:00.001-07:00

Alyson Belcher has been inspiring/informing me and my work for a couple of years now. Her work is done with a pinhole camera, and combines performance and photography. She often appears multiple times within the frame, and is nearly always interacting with herself in some way. The images appear raw, primitive, emotional, and beautiful. All of her poses draw from her feelings and experiences, and each image tells some part of her story. We all know that I am really into that. . . See her artist statement and work below.

"The Body: My work combines pinhole photography with improvisational performance, and stems from the idea that everything we experience is stored somewhere in our bodies. Movement is one way to access and give visual form to what lies beneath the surface of the skin. The making of these photographs is an exploration of the nature of each movement and where it originates internally.

Because of the unpredictable nature of pinhole photography, there is no way to really know how an image will turn out. I don't usually begin with a clearly defined idea. The images often reveal stories that may or may not have been known to me previously. That doesn't mean that they aren't my stories. Often the body remembers what the mind has forgotten.
The Camera: The pinhole camera is low tech; it is the most basic tool for making a photographic image. There is no lens to interfere with the light as it travels from the subject to the film. Because there is no viewfinder through which to preview the image, it's a relatively blind process.

The element of time in pinhole photography allows something to arise that might never be revealed by modern photographic technology. The long exposure times give me an opportunity to explore the space in front of the camera. I may have the impulse to move, or I may chose to remain still - although the body is never completely still, and even the smallest movements leave traces on the film."

-Alyson Belcher, from her website

Research: Photoshop Technique

2009-09-02T18:27:00.000-07:00

I found a new Photoshop technique that I can't wait to try. I want to make myself appear multiple times in one frame, and it's been awhile since I attempted to do that kind of Photoshop work. So, naturally, I searched YouTube for a tutorial, and I found one that I think is going to work really well. It's very simple, but I would not have thought of it on my own. See the video below:

Research: The Beginning, and some reasons why...

2009-08-29T18:15:00.001-07:00

Since my project this year will focus on my new identity as a single mother, during my meeting with Jeff and Tom on Thursday we briefly discussed the stigma toward single-motherhood that makes something already so difficult that much more of a struggle. I confess that at times I hate to call myself a single mother; it just isn't a pleasant thing to be associated with. Too many people immediately jump to conclusions and place judgment - all single mothers must be out to earn welfare, right?

I just started some reading on the subject, and one book that I found suggests a lot of the thoughts that people have towards single mothers, and none of the stereotypes apply to me. I find this odd, because I know I am not alone in my circumstances. Anyway, here is an interesting excerpt. I think it is important to be aware of how false stereotypes are. Read away.

"'Welfare' has become the code word for the 'welfare-queen' - the inner-city, young African American mother that has children in order to stay on welfare, and produces multiple generations of welfare recipients. These families are characterized by neglect, substance abuse, crime, and delinquency. Poverty is the fault of the individual - in this case, the single mothers - rather than the structural forces of society, and welfare has been constructed as a major cause of lack of work effort, unwed motherhood, promiscuity, teenage child bearing, school failure, substance abuse,and other forms of deviant behavior. By stigmatizing the "other" it validates the righteousness of the majority."
- from Blame Welfare, Ignore Poverty and Inequality by Joel F. Handler

Artist: Jeff Wall

2009-08-29T17:55:00.000-07:00

Jeff Wall is best known for his large-scale back-lit cibachrome photographs. Our teacher Jeff suggested that I take a look at his work, especially the images where he appears more than once in the frame, such as Double Self Portrait, which I am posting below.

I did not realize that I was already familiar with Wall's work, but who has not seen The Destroyed Room? I enjoyed looking at more of his work that I had not seen yet, and it was interesting to try to relate it to my own concept. I love how he seems to be documenting things he has seen/experienced, but with reconstructed scenes. This has definitely got me thinking. . .

Some of my favorites:

Double Self Portrait, 1979

Picture for Women, 1979

The Destroyed Room, 1978

Mimic, 1982

Artist: Chris Verene

2009-08-26T18:34:00.000-07:00

Verene's work reveals an artist committed to documenting the hope and spirit in his family’s community. Through the works on Galesburg, the viewer is shown the simple, average human stories taking place in the declining American Midwest. Verene’s unstaged documentary color photography, with it’s Arbusian style, is largely appreciated for its honesty, intense color, and composition.

Chris Verene has a deadpan-documentary style that I really admire. His images draw on personal experience, which of course I relate to my own work. His images combined with brief text tell stories; some amusing, others touching or worrisome. I'm thinking about taking more of a deadpan approach this time around, and documenting something . . . important (not sure what yet!) And I might be incorporating text again. Chris Verene was the first artist that came to my mind for inspiration. Some of his work:

See his website here.