Tim Head. Monday Post. 11.9.

Tim Head is a British artist, born in 1946. He has done a great deal of experimentation in the art field, working with drawing, printing with ink, video installations, and experiments with UV paint and black lights.

Tim Head has worked in a variety of mediums over the years. Some of his later work, started in the early 2000’s “explores the physical ingredients of digital space.”

And another quote, “The work is motivated by the search for a kind of pictorial and spatial reality which is intrinsic to the computer, and a desire to expose the 'treacherous' nature of the digital space. Head is fascinated by the supposed perfection of the computerised image and the fact that much effort is devoted to creating ever more refined images which eliminate any evidence of the pixel. However, Head is not opposed to such technology per se. Treacherous Light is not about subverting the computer. Rather, in common with so much of his work of the past thirty years, it is about taking a medium (or an idea) and 'laying it bare, making it transparent, showing it for what it is'. [6] It is a part of an ongoing project: a probing but non-judgemental questioning of the world we live in and the technology we surround ourselves with.”

Thursday post. 11.5.

I popped into Paul's office a few days ago, before my presentation because I hadn't met with him since my first meeting and he hadn't seen any of my recent work. We spoke about the images I showed in my midterm critique and to my relief he said he liked the concept and images better than my original idea! This was a huge relief! Paul had some great ideas with what I could do to further the concept, this included making my own images to show alongside the screen shots of LCDs and Planet Earth. This was a great idea, because it allows me to get more innovative with my shots and even create some sets, which I love doing! Anselm Reyle really comes to mind while I'm thinking about making this work because of his use of foil. The pvc foil he uses looks insanely crystalline when photographed from certain angles. Paul suggested continuing the illusions and photographing through something, such as a glass window. I think it's important for the work I set up and shoot to maintain dialogue with the other images I'm going to be showing...I want it to appear as if it could have been a shot from Planet Earth. These illusions are important to my work and the conceptual conversations I want my pieces to have with each other.

Andres Serrano. Monday Post. 11.2.

Andres Serrano is best known for his controversial images of Jesus on the Cross and Madonna with Child, both submerged in his urine. Serrano’s use of abstraction and organic compounds is the part of his work that I enjoy. He takes a biological look at what the human body produces. His more controversial work employs piss, blood, semen, and now feces; these are the pieces I have been studying. Serrano has been throwing this brand of social commentary at the art world for years now. His recent work, photographs of his own shit photographed against bright neon backgrounds are meant to show the complexities of human waste.

Serrano says, “Even though I consider myself a conceptual artist, I am a traditionalist when it comes to photography. I like to use film and shoot straight. No technical gimmicks or special effects. What you see is what I saw when I looked though the camera. If I've dazzled you with lights and colors, it's because I've dazzled you with lights and colors. Ideas are more important than effects. And effects are always better when they're real.”

I think Serrano is great because how often do we really contemplate what our bodies produce? Everything that we naturally make as living beings has been stigmatized by society and the media. It is not only socially acceptable, but we are expected to cover and mask our human odors, flush our waste, and as women, hide our menstruation as shameful weakness, not to mention the stereotypes attached to body hair. Serrano's brand of controversy may be more of a "f*** you" to the contemporary art world, but regardless, he is using his body to make art and I have a great respect for the work he creates.

Thursday Post. 10.29.

I am interested in the way that staring into a screen gives people a sense of accomplishment and productivity. Specifically, the documentary Planet Earth, because it gives a viewer the illusion that they can travel around the globe without ever leaving home. Setting foot outside the door is no longer necessary, because the wilds of the world are now unfolding on your television screen. I have been playing the Planet Earth documentary on my computer and shooting it so that there are visible pixels and warped lines from the screen. The subtle additions that these elements add to the already abstracted images is my current aesthetic. These images are to read as commentary on human interaction with the image and the screen. We regard the screen as it's own entity more often than an object of our own creation.
The ways in which humans imitate and try to duplicate processes of the natural world also feed into my imagery. Specifically, in terms of crystalline structures. Crystals are fascinating because their molecular structures are so unique, but for years scientists have known how to create crystals and gemstones in labs around the world. Human beings are working to create alternatives to all living things. It's as if we are turning a cheek to the natural, because we can make it better. Nature left us a map, and we follow the roads, but we are constantly looking for short cuts.
For example, China has the worlds leading weather manipulation technology and scientists are currently working to create a resolution clearer than even the human eye.

Walead Beshty. Monday Post. 10.26.

Walead Beshty is a very intelligent man. His work is based on political and social movements and the process through which he makes his art is very thoughtful.

Excerpt from an "about the artist" statement, "Walead Beshty has long used photography as a tool to explore the social and political conditions of our material culture. More recently, the material conditions of photography itself have spurred his continuing investigations of the gap between the physical world and the image world, and the way this rupture is instrumentalized by ideologies that seek to infiltrate the processes through which we produce meaning."

Beshty also makes large scale, abstract, color photograms. He combines elements of early photography, and then puts a modern spin on it by using large-scale digital printers, and color processing. Another innovative piece Beshty created is a set of shatter proof glass boxes that he ships from gallery to gallery in fed ex boxes. As the pieces move, they develop cracks and shatters from the wear and tear of the travel. This speaks to the movement, the physical tracing of the pieces as they move from show to show. At each location, the boxes take on a new visual element, from the shipping. This work speaks similarly to the photographs Beshty shoots of abandoned Iraqi government buildings in former East Berlin. He had been shooting the gradual decay of the buildings, when on a later trip, his film made it's way through the airport x-ray machines. Rather than dispose of the film, Beshty began shooting with it to make commentary on the travel and the change that had taken place within the space.

Thursday Post. 10.22.

Day after mid term crit.
In my critique, I showed 25 different 4"x6" images. The images were split about 50/50 between Planet Earth stills and broken LCD screens. I love that I have been able to keep abstraction as a main focus in my project. This is also a way for me to explore color without being vibrant without a purpose. I plan on developing this project further by focusing on fractals and where they exist in nature as well as the way in which they are produced digitally. Crystals have been a big inspiration because they are so complex and yet scientists have been making them in labs for years. Another inspiration in making this work is the developing Weather Technology being produced in China. This technology is wild, men were literally shooting rockets of silver iodide into the clouds to prevent rain from interfering with the 2008 Olympics. (http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-06-29-china-rain_x.htm)

The way in which humans are duplicating nature is mind boggling. There is very little that human beings actually need to survive. Food, Water, Shelter. Greed and capitalism have pushed human beings to drive mother nature farther back. As a species we have lost touch with how things are made. Look around your living room, could you duplicate any of the objects in it? We exist in a world of digital communication, email, blogging, the majority of us have no respect for our planet.

I know I'm throwing out a lot of blanket statements that can't possibly apply to everyone on the earth, but in my work I am looking to explore the appeal of the show Planet Earth and why it makes it's viewers feel so much closer to nature, when in fact we never set foot outside of the living room.

Planet Earth is the only documentary that I have seen about the Earth without obvious human involvement. Typically the format is a rugged looking man jumping from rock to rock and teaching you how to safely drink urine if trapped out in the elements. Planet Earth shows the untouched parts of the planet in a way that makes the viewer feel as if they are personally communing with the scenery. In addition to my screen shots, I would like to show images that I shoot on my own...equally abstract and somewhat indistinguishable from the other images, except lacking pixels. Paul's idea was to shoot through window glass, with water drops on the surface. This comparison between real life and life that exists on the screen compared to moments that never truly existed, such as the broken LCD is what I've been thinking about. It's really overwhelming to dissect all of these elements at once, it's easier on my brain to think about it in pieces.

Stephen Knapp. Monday Post. 10.19.

Stephen Knapp is known for his light paintings. Knapp uses light and the way light shines through glass to creature sculptural elements on walls that resemble paintings. The three dimensional pieces, also work flawlessly in 2D and look amazing when photographed; I'd love to shoot his work. There are so many potential angles to shoot the pieces from. Every direction offers new angles, new color combinations and more geometry. Knapp's work varies in scale from the size of a mantle, in his commissioned work, to taking up the side of a building, ex: 23'x40'x1'. His range is incredible. In one piece, there is only one light source illuminating the work and the result does not look any more minimal than the others. The minimalist aspect of this is great, Knapp uses only 3 materials..glass, steel and light. And truly, this is the purest color source possible, it is pure color and light.

Observing the way Knapp can literally paint with light and color is truly inspiring. I have tried my hand at painting on several occasions and always seem to fall short of the effect I strive for. Stephen Knapp has accomplished painterly shapes using only light, glass and stainless steel. It's absolutely amazing. The wording of his statement clearly shows the imagination of the artist that has been involved in this process.

Excerpt from Knapp's Artist Statement on the subject of his "lightpaintings:"

"Out of these processes and materials have come lightpaintings, in which I separate white light into pure color and paint with light. Each piece has a presence that far exceeds its physical dimensions. Stainless steel grounds the surface and its reflections ground the planes of light.

Glass allows me to manipulate and explore light and illusion, creating pure colors. I revel in their purity, their breathtaking richness – yet I am most drawn to the edges and the soft shadows that overlay a whisper of color and the borders that define space. It is here that mystery and depth and wonder can be found.

Dreams and imagination command much of our lives when we are young, yet time and society move us into structures that leave little time for them. In lightpaintings I strive to create destinations, small pieces of wonder, places for introspection and meditation where hopes, dreams and aspirations are possible

Entering a lightpainting or any work of art invokes a conditional promise to do so with open eyes, to be aware of possibilities. Perception and interaction lead to an act of mutual discovery, a universal bond of our existence. There is no right answer hidden within each piece, only a shared journey."