Blog# 3 Ann Hamilton, Cai Guo-Qiang & Sara Lebowitz

Hello World,

Fibers. It can be described in several ways such as, 'thread like material either natural or artificial to be woven with'. Or maybe 'a very small substance that when many are brought together have strength.' It can be dyed, printed onto, knotted, woven, embroidered, etc. But it is not necessarily how it's used and manipulated, but just in the making of it is what is important. The hard labor by whom you may not know and the suffering they may have gone through. The history of fiber is a long and painful one and this perspective gives the material new meaning.

"We are working in an art that's called visual art. And by definition we are visually driven. In a way, we are bound by that, limited by this very fact. So it's easy for us to depict things of this physical world, of the way we live now, but it's very difficult to depict things that are not seen but have profound effect on us." Guo-Qiang states (Spirituality, chaos & inopportune interview). What Guo-Qiang, one of our artist this week, is trying to connect here is that, the materials we use, if we're conscious or not of it, will effect the rest of this world. Ann Hamilton, another textile artist, has similar perspectives as Guo-Qiang. While trying to create a piece having to do with the truth of fibers history in the U.S., she asks, "How do you give voice to something that's not necissarily visible?" Her piece soon turned into the voice of thousands, with a giant pile of blue jeans representing the slaves working in the fiber industry.

For Guo-Qiang, he recognizes the impact of the materials he uses in his work as well. Gunpowder drawings has been one of his trademarks and although it does create a mysterious and wonderful image on paper, the massive destruction and hate that it has been used for is evident. "Maybe my work sometimes is like the poppy flower. It's very beautiful, but yet because of the circumstances it also represents a poison to society as well." (Guo-Qiang, Spirituality, Chaos & Inopportune interview) This being said, I'd like to bring in another perspective. Life and death, distruction and creation, they are all one of the same. Without the other they would sees to exist. There is a little p(art) of each other in each other that is called the balance of the universe. So, although there may have been suffering, the material itself in what ever form it might be will always be in the ebb and flow of this balance and will always have a new life journey, just as the people who suffered. The moment is in constant change and  Ann Hamilton concures, "There's a way that it (the installation) has an ongoing life as it meets the public. Every moment that it's up it's different" (Ghost: a border act interview).

Our guest speaker, Sara Lebowitz, She says that she is constantly thinking about how the art of fibers are made and what are the consequences of it. Why making is important to her is that she could not see herself without it. In a sense, 'making' is the making of oneself. She showed us several fiber artist, Ann Hamilton being one of them. One of the artists tat I was most drawn to was Magda Sayeg who, with her knitting graffitti, has made a huge spash into the art world. Taking knitting to the city streets you could say, covering anything from streetlight poles to city buses in knitting. Almost beautifying the streets. Its quite a powerful sight and knowing the labor that went into making the fiber, but also the final piece.

All of these perspectives and artists reminded me of a book I recently read called, 'Juniper' by Monica Furlong. Its about a little girl who is being trained to be a doran, which is a sorcerious. In her training she is taught to spin, dye and weave in order to make a doran cloak. "Every doran has one, and  it needs to be carefully made because one day it will be your protection against the magic of sorcerers." (Juniper, pg. 86)
This cloak was very powerful and did protect her, but yet again it was all in the 'making of it' that truely mattered. The labor she put into making each color thread and weaving the hours away were what truely made that cloak powerful. 'A very small substance that when many are brought together have strength.'

Here is cloak I found that reminded me of Juniper's.
May Fibers continue their journey and story as we all do.

Blog # 2 Chris Coleman, Micheal a. Salter, The Vocabulary of Comics

Dear World,

I have been dipping my feet into the deep waters of icons. Wow...they are everywhere! Icons are what we first see from our businesses to our entertainment. "The sorts of images we usually call symbols are one category of icon, these are the images we use to represent concepts, ideas and philosophies. Then there are the icons of language, science and communication. Icons of the practical realm. And finally, the icons we call pictures: images designed to actually resemble their subjects." (The Vocabulary of Comics pg. 27) Icons are or rather can be used as a manipulator to get into your brain. As Micheal A. Salter (our guest speaker) would put it, "Everything you look at matters and its having an effect on you." Whether we are conscious or not of it, this is true. The shoes you wear, the dish detergent you use, the food you eat, etc. were all chosen for some kind of reason, and subconsciously, icons guide you with whatever choice was made.

Micheal is mainly a digital artist that for years has been fascinated by the iconic world. He is constantly observing the images surrounding him. He questions 'what are my relationships to the stuff I look at?' Icons are designed purposely to get into your head. Some even remind us of ourselves. "We see ourselves in everything...we assign identities and emotions where none exist and  make the world over in our image." (The Vocabulary of Comics pg. 33)  Take for instance, Micheal's robots, although they are only made of recycled styrofoam, we can relate to them as though they too had feelings and thoughts. We are instantly drawn to icons that have a certain human quality to them, because its what we know and is familiar and safe. Micheal suggests that by taking 'something that everyone is familiar with and re-design it,' it will have a new life and meaning, but still have that familiarity to comfort people. Learning about icons from Micheal, I've suddenly have become far more aware of my own surroundings. Observing what a normally would skim by. What a wonderful opportunity to explore.

Micheal has done a variety of work, some of which had been collaborated with Chris Coleman. Chris, also primarily a digital artist, creates images and digital videos mostly having to do with issues of the world. In one of his videos called, Modern Times, he uses terrorism readiness pamphlets, provided by the Department of Homeland Security. In this piece he, "examines the issues we cope with regularly such as racism, surveillance, and apathy by using imagery from specific safety brochures." (Blackboard) Chris uses a very unusual style. I truly enjoyed how his videos take you on this unpredictable journey. who knew that Safety pamphlets could be that beautiful and profound. Chris has, to relate his work to Micheal's theories, taken something that is familiar to everyone (safety pamphlets) and created a new life and meaning for it. I always thought of safety brochures as being really humorious. The imagery or icons always seem to be perfectly at ease and calm in their high risk situation. When in reality, most people in those presented situations would probably flip their shit. Check this link I found on Packard Jennings' art. I think he gives a much more insightful view into safety pamphlets. This is called, Business Reply Pamphlet.

 Micheal, Chris and The Vocabulary of Comics have all used icons and shown us the different was they can be used. What do they mean? How do they effect you? How do you relate to them? What are their purpose? Its another way of looking at this bizarre home of ours and continues to teach us these bizarre lessons.

Blog #1 Magaret Kilgallen, Art Theory, Laura Vandenburgh

Dear World,

I would like to start this blog by saying how long its been since I've engaged in learning about art in an academic environment...let's just say a while. It's been a pleasure reintroducing it into my life. That said, let me share with you some of the things I've learned and was inspired by.

This week our guest speaker was Laura Vandenburgh; she draws and paints by nature, but as we've mentioned in class, it is hard to say that an artist only has one medium. Laura presented many ideas and perspectives, she claims that "everyone engages in drawing," whether it be doodling in your notebook or making a map for someone to find your house, its all drawing. I felt particularly drawn (don't mind the pun) to this statement, for I've always admired people who can draw with much convincing detail and never thought of myself as a drawer. I may give it another chance now. She also mentioned that just as each person has their own signature, they also each have their own unique style of drawing or marking. When you look at a drawing, "you feel the hand of the artist," you might even feel empathetic towards their learning process.

Laura gave us some examples of artists who primarily work with drawing. There were a huge variety of different ways to create a mark or a line without having to use the standard pencil on paper. I was ignorant that one might create a drawing by using other means, such as rope, wire, garbage, etc. What a broad world drawing turned out to be.

"Art is a form of visual curiosity, which means that it is always in some sense about how we view ourselves and others in the world" (Art Theory for Beginners p.1) I believe this to be very much correct, or at least being parallel with my momentary perspective. I see this world as a place to practice having more compassion. Compassion can be another word for 'understanding' and understanding is the primary goal of curiosity; there for, through art one might find compassion for themselves and others.

Another perspective I saw eye to eye with was the idea behind 'Entropy and the Second Law of Thermodynamics'. Robert Smithson who was the artist that created the earthwork (or drawing, as Laura had shown us) Spiral Jetty, made in 1970 at the Great Salt Lake in Utah. "For Smithson it showed that order is unstable and easily lost. This loss of order, this instability, and openness to change was something Smithson tried to build into his artwork. His art was all about accepting that things get created and then they decay. The Spiral Jetty changes and submerges over time. It is not stable." (Art Theory for Beginners p.9) I've learned this lesson many times and in many ways; change is the only thing that is permanent. What Smithson created is a beautiful truth of all things.

Magaret Kilgallen was a seeker of truth and curiosity as well. Influenced mostly by American and Indian Folk art she was inspired by inspiring others. "...the thing that keeps me going is the fact that maybe, maybe, somebody will learn from what I'm doing... when you put your work out there and somebody comes up to you and thanks you for doing it, that is why I do work. It can inspire." (Influences and Train Marking interview) And she's right, I for one was inspired by her art. The hand-painted train yard photos reminded me of my own recent art work. Combining photographs with drawings and/ or other found objects to create a memory that may or my not have happened. Kilgallen also mentions that "on any day in the Mission, in San Fransisco you can see a hand-painted sign that is kind of funky... I think its beautiful, what they did and that they did it themselves." I just happen to be in San Fransisco a few weeks ago and I can honestly say that some of the art work I saw in the Mission was breath-taking. All I wanted to do was find random alleyways and gaze at the graffiti, which were more like master pieces of the streets. Here's a few graffiti art works I happen to see while being in San Fransisco. look up 'December 29, 2010'
San Fransisco street art



For art to be openly shared with whomever happens to pass by is a blessing that I'm grateful for.

What I am gathering from the all of this information is its common thread. "Art allows the truth to happen, it does not predetermine it or make it conform to an already existing idea, art allows the truth to arise in the creation of the artwork itself." (words influenced by Martin Heidegger; Art Theory for Beginners p.65)
Each artist, and I mean everyone, is searching for their truth. Allowing their mind to move with the ebb and flow of change, curiosity, and inspiration; arriving finally at our unique mark and our uniqueness.

Ta Da

Hello out there!

Creating this blog is a huge feat for me. That may seem silly, but I am ill equipped when it comes to computers and new technology. Hope you enjoy the perspectives I have to offer and I hope to learn yours as well. Blessings and write you soon.