project number 2 #3

So, after working all weekend on pricing different materials to make my large spheres out of purely glue, I decided that it would be a bit to much money for a poor college student such as myself. So then I came up with the idea of getting those Styrofoam balls that florists use for fake flowers and covering them with the glue chips. I thought that this was a good idea because, I could then suspend the spheres from the ceiling, since the Styrofoam would alleviate a lot of the weight. I thought that this would be a great avenue to take this project down! However, those feelings came to a quick realization when I found out how much Styrofoam balls cost! After figuring out that I would be spending around $80 in Styrofoam, not even counting the glue I would need to cover them, I decided I better come up with a different idea. Luckily, I did have a backup plan.

My plan now is to buy a bunch of plastic cups, and cut them. I have bought around 130 plastic cups, a can of spray paint, and fishing wire. My idea is to cut them in such a way that they will form a spiral and then I could hang these spirals from the ceiling of our art classroom. I think that it would be really cool because then the viewer can interact with the artwork, creating a relationship with the viewer and the piece. I also think that this is a cool project because in the end, the cups do not look like cups. You can not use them as such and you can hardly recognize them as such.
I think that the spray paint also adds dimension to the piece by adding interest for the eye. I think what I am going to do is hang the cups in a series of four. Among the four cups there will be one cup that is painted purple. I think that this will help lead the viewer about the piece, instead of leaving them to figure it out for themselves.
I have yet to draw this out, but I do have a few prototypes in my room that I think look really awesome! I think the fat that there will be so many of them, and that it will command your attention will be really cool.
Also, due to the fact that each of the cups will not be cut in the exact same way I think that it kind of reflects society in itself. Each of the cups will have its own personal identity due to the way they are cut, along with the ones that are painted purple will stand out from the others. I think that this is kind of like people. We each have our own identity, however, some stand out more than others, and when we come all together, we make a large, unique group of people. As the cups make a large "school" if you will.
This project has been kinda hard for me to do because it is kinda of frustrating for me to step out of what I'm so used to doing, which is working with photography. This is so different and hard for me to get used to, so I'm a bit hesitant at first. I think that as the semester goes on it will get easier for me to come up with ideas for projects and become better at developing my voice as an artist. However, right now I am having a little difficulty. It will all work out in the end. I know that.

Project number 2 #2

Well... this is frustrating. I x-nayed the leaf idea because after talking with some classmates and our teacher I came to the conclusion that making the paper out of the leaves isn't really transforming anything I guess, who knew?

So, onto another idea. I don't really like the idea of the paper DNA strand anymore, however, I did come up with a project to do with glue sticks. I think it would be cool if I took a regular Avery or Elmers school glue stick and cut it into about 1/8 inch pieces so they are just about as thick as two pennies put together. I would then lay them out to dry into the little funky forms they would become once they are solid. I then have one of two choices that could happen I think; I could spray paint the glue sticks to give them color and then adhere them to a Styrofoam ball, since making an entire sphere made our of little slices of glue would be really expensive and my test run didn't go so hot. Another idea would be just glue the slices of glue onto the Styrofoam as is, with no color at all. I think that I may do a combination on the two, alternating a layer of colored glue pieces with white, or non color glue pieces. I think I'll use 3M Super 77 glue to adhere the glue to the Styrofoam and then possible hot glue to adhere the glue pieces to each other. If it melts the glue pieces then I will continue to use Super 77. I still have a few experiments before I make the actual things, but hopefully it'll work out.
My other idea is achieved by cutting plastic cups into spirals and suspending them from the ceiling. I think that this would be really cool because then the viewer could walk through the piece and experience it as a full. I think I would make maybe a hundred or two of these little spirals and then hang them with fishing line from the ceiling, at different heights, of our art classroom. I think that this would be really really cool, and a good alternative to the glue if that does not work. I have made a few of the forms already and have hung them in my dorm room. They are cool, and a lot of fun to play with. I think that it would be cool if there were hundreds of them because then it would be an experience rather than just an art piece. I would also hang a sign in the middle that would invite the viewer in to have fun with the piece.

Tara Donovan

 Tara Donovan was born in New York, New York in 1969; she now lives and works out of Brooklyn. She attended the School of Visual arts in New York from 1987-88 and received her BFA at the Corcoran College of Art and Design in Washington D.C. in 1991. She also attended Virginia Commonwealth University in 1999 where she earned her MFA. Before becoming an artist she had a day job of waiting tables. She didn't quit this job until 2003, when she opened her first show and it was a breakout success.
She uses everyday object manufactured by companies around the world and morphs them into art work that is large scale. Since the piece are so enormous they take very tedious work to be put together and taken apart. Materials that she has worked with so far include paper plates, straws, Styrofoam cups, and tape. In interviews Tara states that she chooses her materials before she decides what to do with them. She says her artistic process is to take an object and think of it expanding into the millions. Her work mimics the way nature is in the fact that it mimics how things actually grow. For example, trees do not just have one leaf, they have hundreds, just like how Donovan's piece wave does not just have one cup, but millions.
She has been working in the artist field for over a decade and over that span of time has made

hundreds of pieces that not only comment on how nature revolves around the world, but how world revolves around nature. She pays and exquisite amount of attention to detail and texture that her materials, once repeated over and over again, ensue upon the viewer. Also, she is very in touch with the inherent physical properties of the materials she is working with, and how repetition of those properties can have a life long effect on a viewer.
I think that Tara Donovan's pieces are extremely amazing! She is a true trail blazer for the art of the future. I think that what makes her different and unique also makes her special and memorable. It does not really matter if she is not what the art industry thinks of as contemporary or up to day with what they think art should be now, she is a true artist. I believe art is something that should make you question is that art? Do I think that this is appealing to more than just my eye? What do other think? Art should make you question what types of things should be placed in a gallery and that is exactly what Donovan does.
The most stunning piece of work that she has crated would have to be the paper plate balls I think. I think that that way that the paper curves from being pressed together when packaged and the way the Donovan plays with and in the end really extenuates that fact is really beautiful!

This is one of my favorite pieces of all time. I have always been a fan of hers, and have even seen a few works of hers myself. I think that they are all beautiful and really have an impact of the viewers that have the rare chance to see them. I think that the most interesting thing is that she take everyday, ordinary things and makes them extraordinarily beautiful! I also think that the way that she handles criticism is very unique. She does not care who likes or does not like her work. That is not why she makes it. She makes it to make you think about what you use and how everyday items can in fact be beautiful.

Project numero dos

So, for the next round of Art 108 we get to take an object that has already been manufactured or made that we use everyday and shift its meaning by turning it into something else. The text from the assignment sheet given in class says, and I quote, "Select and ordinary object that the average person might see in their everyday life. Transform, alter, or reconstruct this object to create a new meaning or function. Think of ways in which the function of this object could be reinterpreted. Is there a relationship between the object's previous and new function?"
So, I have two ideas that have just kind of dawned upon me since class last night. My first is to take paper and roll it up long ways and make it into a rolling DNA strand like staircase. I think that this could be cool if I made it really superior and large, my only problem is that I don't know if this meets the criteria of the project well enough that it would be accepted. I want to make a really spectacular project this time since last time I felt as though I did my best, but I could have done better.
My other idea is more exciting, and I think that it may be a better avenue to go down for this project. This idea was given to me by my mom while on the phone with her after receiving the project. She suggested doing something with the leaves since they are now starting to change a bit around the area. I was thinking more and more about this last night and all day today, and I think it could be a really spectacular medium to work with. What I was thinking of doing with leaves is to make a journal with leaves as pages. I could bind it myself and it would show the relationship between paper and how it comes from trees and how you have to destroy a tree or a forest for the world to have a useful, yet hardly sustainable resource like paper.
I don't know if it will meet the criteria, I think it will. However I have been thinking about it and how I would accomplish such a task of making leaves into paper. I think my best bet would be to use a type of art adhesive and glue them together in the form of paper. I think my paper would not include the stems of the leaves, seeing as how it would kind of destroy the quality of a nice, clean, smooth piece of paper made of leaves. I would then put some sort of clear coat on it so that the leaves would not fall apart as they begin to decay. I think that as the leaves begin to die that it could be a really beautiful piece because it would tie back into the meaning of how paper should be sustainable because of recycling, however it is becoming ever more harmful to our environment.
It could be a cool project, I just hope things work out into where I could make this journal/ notebook thing. Hopefully....we will see. 

Dominic Wilcox

Dominic Wilcox was born in Sunderland, UK and attended the Edinburgh College of Art, where his love for the arts really flourished.  Now he can be found working in London, where his central headquarters are, or around the world at various locations.
Dominic does not like to work with mediums such as paint, ceramic, or metal, but rather he prefers to work with items that he finds around his house, or items that play a vital part in everyday life. His work, as described by himself is, " usually layered with an ultra dry wit,  places a spotlight on the banal, always adding a new, alternative perspective on things we take for granted." (dominicwilcox.com/background). He is a very renowned artist around the world and continues to push the limits of what is and is not considered art. He uses his creativity and innovation to make things that, although unique, are visually appealing and interesting. They usually have a very in depth story behind them, however, Dominic does like to create art for the sake of art most times.
He graduated from Edinburgh College with a degree in Visual Communications, he then moved to Japan and decided that he should go back to school. He then attended the Royal College of Art where he studied under Ron Arad in the Design Production department, he later graduated with a MA in such.

In 2002 he started working on a piece with Mick Rock, a renowned photographer. Together they created the Mosley meets Wilcox collection exhibited in late 2004.The collection was bowls that had famous faces engraved into them. As the shadows pass through the dish it casts a larger shadow of the face onto the surface on which its sits. Other pieces in the collection feature shoes and pencil holders for office desks. The collection includes famous faces like David Bowie, Ziggy, Mick Jagger, Blondie, Lou Reed, and Iggy Pop. The collection is rare and completely awe inspiring.
Since 2005 Wilcox has been working by himself on many pieces as well as being commissioned by many large companies to help advertise their products. Theses companies include Nike, Vipp, and Esquire magazine. He has made a variety of things for them such as a cave for Nike shoes made of plastic soccer and basketball figures melted together; much like his army man bowl, however the figures are not melted together, but glued rather.
In 2009 he released his sketchbook online at his own website called Variations on Normal. He puts up, in addition to his sketchbook, his observations and experiments while developing new works. Here he puts up pictures of his inventions that involve everyday items whose meaning has been shifted. I think that this is on of the most interesting display of art on a website I've ever seen. He is currently a part of a 30 day challenge which requires him to make art work out of everyday object everyday with only 5 euros for spending money. This is really cool I think because it forces him to think outside of his normal area of art and think about what he is going to make and how he is going to make it.

I think that this is my favorite of the things that he has fashioned so far in his 30 day challenge. They are just regular filpflops that he has bought and glued them together to make a wedge shoe. Its really cool how he did because who would think of doing this? It is completely unconventional and I like it! Its very innovative and unique. I never would have thought of making these. I like the way that he takes things that we see everyday and makes them into something very very different. I like that he thinks outside of the box and doesn't really care what people think. He just makes art for the sake of art. It is his release and I think its awesome how he uses his energy, negative or positive, in such an awesome way! I think that it takes practice to be this creative, however, I think that he has a natural gift! He just makes the coolest things and I think that he is an inspiration to all artist who desire to be in todays field of art.

2 Lists

Object: Glue Stick
List One: Describe item formally...               
1. Oblong.                                                   
2. Cylinder.                                                  
3. Around 3 inches tall.                      
4. Half an inch in diameter.                            
5. Cap is removable.                                    
6. Made of plastic.
7. Weight = .26 oz.
8. Smooth texture because of outer sticker,
until you get to the handle and then ridged to
have ability to grip it.
9. It has a pink, yellow, and orange outer label.
10. Has black writing that advertises what the object is.

List Two: Words that describe its original meaning
1. To hold things together.
2. Keep photos in a memory book.
3. Make crafts made of paper.
4. Adhesive.
5. Permanent.

Object Two: Sharpie
List One:                                                                
1. Oblong.                                                              
2. Cylinder.                                                             
3. Removable yellow cap.
4. Around 5 inches long.
5. Black writing on tube.
6. Has a lapel claps to keep it in a pocket or something.
7. Made of plastic.
8. Smooth in texture, excluding where the object had been
cut out of the plastic form.
9. Light weight.

List Two:
1.Writing on things that need permanent writing.
2. Used on misc. art project that should be permanent.
3. Smear resistant.
4. Water resistant ink, that won't fade.
5. Non-toxic ink.

Object Three: Hole Punch
List One:
1. Molded for use in a persons hand.
2. Purple handle.
3. Punch at the top, so when you squeeze it will punch a hole
in your paper or whatever you are working on.
4. Rivet in the middle to keep it from falling apart.
5. A catcher on the opposite side of from the punch, to catch
all of the holes.
6. Spring loaded inside to make a clean punch.

List two:
1. To punch holes in different materials.
2. May be used in an office or an art studio.
3. Can be used to bang things into place.
4. Can be used to help bind books.
5.Very useful in making tags for various objects.

Object Four: IPod
List One:
1. Square.
2. Silver.
3. Has a glass screen.
4. Its body is made of metal and brushed metal for the faceplate.
5. Has a white wheel for selecting the songs.
6. Hand held, light weight.
7. Apple logo on back and mirrored metal.
8. Around 2 1/2 inches tall.

List Two:
1. Listen to music on the go.
2. Play games.
3. Keep your life organized.
4. Can be used as a mirror.
5. Keep photos organized.

Object Five: Perfume Bottle
List One:
1. Heart Shaped.
2. Has a crown for the lid.
3. Liquid inside is a light pinkish purple color.
4. About 5 inches tall.
5. Semi- heavy.
6. Made of glass.
7. Has purple writing on it.
8. The crown contains pink jewels.
9. Has a sort of angular feel to the bottle, not a perfect heart.

List Two:
1. Spray to mask smells.
2. Can be used to seduce.
3. Spray to smell good all day.
4. Can be sprayed on cards or something given to a loved one.
5. The crowns can be used as rings.

John Dillienger

This weekend I saw the movie Public Enemies. It was a very interesting movie that I have been wanting to see for quite a long time. It stars Johnny Depp as the famous bank robber of the 1930s John Dillinger and  Channing Tatum as Pretty Boy Floyd. The movie was based during Dillinger's last few moths of bank robbery and of life. He was wanted by the FBI, which had only been around a few short months, for robbing multiple banks in the Chicago area and murdering one of the police men. It is alleged that he stole over $300,000 from multiple banks around the Midwest.
The movie, although wrong on many of the historical dates and events, depicts Dillinger as an open character, not living afraid of police, but rather living in a way that suggests that he was better than the police force. He fell in love with Evelyn "Billie" Frechette in the early 30s.

This would lead to her imprisonment later for harboring criminals because she lent her house to John and his "posse" of bank robbers.
I think that this movie is extremely artistic in the way director, Michael Mann, shot it. It has a lot of interesting shots that draw the viewer in, and also he does a great job of capturing the mood of the 1930s. It is amazing how he captures the depression and the sadness that was the moral of the American people at this time. I like the fact that he takes time to unveil the story of who John Dillinger was. The movie was long, but it kept you involved. The cinematography was amazing in the way some of the scenes were shot. I think that currently it is hard to find a good movie that has a good story line and is still interesting. I think that with America's lowering standards of what a "good" movie consists of, this one rises above the usual standards and is truly a good movie.
This week in my Hum 150 class we also made journals from scratch. It was a really fun experience. We learned to how to bind our own pages just like old book companies and publishers would have and make a spine and hard covers to protect the book. I chose a gray fabric that has little swirls all over it and some sparkles. I really liked the idea of making my own journal because it reminded me of The Boy that Harnessed the Wind because we were building something functional out of thinks that could have just been thrown out. It made me feel like an engineer! it was really fun! I think that my journal looks really good, I made a book mark for it and decorated it with some blue ribbon. It looks really pretty.

Critique

This week in art we were critiqued on out previous work. I think it went well for our first time. There were a lot of interesting pieces there made by some of the other students in the class. There was one that was almost as tall as a person and it had bamboo for the armature and wire mesh for the skin and was held together with hemp string. It was really cool the way the lines moved in the piece. The hemp pulled the bamboo back so the piece stood with only its own tension. It had a lot of asymmetrical values that made the piece flow really well. Another piece had human hair and pie tins. It was interesting how the pie tins and hair acted around each other and how they complimented each other, strangely. My favorite piece was one that resembled and old camera lens of a bellow folding camera. It had the armature made of wood and the skin was on slides sitting

inside the armature. It was very interesting to look inside the form because of the way the skin was layered on the sides it made the hole look curvy even though it was straight. As the piece moved around it changed form and in the end was very interesting to watch. It was very unique in the way that the light reflected off of it and the shapes changed as it moved when it was suspended.
My critique went well also I think. A lot of people liked the story behind the piece once I explained it. There was a lot of good feedback on the piece about how I could make it better and how I could present it differently. They liked the different skins of newspaper and gold foil and how they were in stark contrast to each other. I think that, even though it was a  suspenseful experience standing up there waiting for people to say something about my piece and not quite knowing whether or not it would be good or bad, it was good for me as an artist because it helped me to know what critiques are like and what they maybe like in the future. It also helped when I reminded myself that everyone is a critique, no matter who you meet; and as long as you as the artist and creator like your piece then it really doesn't matter who else agrees with you, because your art will affect someone, sometime.

This week I also learned about some really cool figures in my art history class that I really liked. We are beginning to study Greece and Crete.
There was this one, which is named Winged Victory. I have actually seen this sculpture in the Louvre, which is maybe why it stuck out in my memory to much. I think that this is one of my favorite sculptures because it leads to mystery because  the viewer wonders where the head went, if it was carved without a head, or if something tragic happened to it when it lost its head. The viewer wonders about the story behind this sculpture, which is why I find it so intriguing.  I also think that this is one of the most beautiful and elegant sculptures ever crated. It just has this quality of fluid movement that is very aesthetically pleasing to my eyes. I really like this sculpture because it also carries the qualities of a Greek goddess in which the Greek were so obsessed with. I think that it could be a god that is depicted in human form and figure. I really just fell in love with this larger than life figure. Its was just so very beautiful that every time I saw it that day I could not help myself but to stop and stare at its beauty.

Other Pictures

My other three drawings in addition to the ones in the post earlier about my project.

Oedipus

In my drama class we are reading Oedipus the King, by Sophocles. It is quite the interesting story, and piece of artwork in its self. Sophocles was a very religious man, but it does not come out in this piece of work. The story begins with Oedipus, King of Thebes, in disarray because his country is in disaster because of a plague. He sends off Creon, his brother in law to Delphi to talk with Apollo's messenger about what they can do to save Thebes. Creon returns with a riddle that, once figured out, reveals that Oedipus is sleeping with his mother, murdered his father, and the reason that Thebes is in the state that it is in. He is in a state of disbelief at first, so he calls in one of the former kings shepherds that knows of the story of his existence and death. The shepherd indeed revels that he has killed his father, is married to his mother, Jocasta, and is the murderer that must be punished to bring Thebes back from the "dead". Jocasta, after hearing this news, hangs herself because she can not deal with the grief. Oedipus gouges out his eyes after he finds her, because he knows that this is all his fault. Creon takes over as king and banishes Oedipus to the mountain, per his request.
What I thought was interesting in this play was the imagery that Sophocles portrays. He is very descriptive about the characters through the chorus. I liked that as the play played out, I could see it in my mind, as a form of art. It was vivid, nothing to be mistaken or misplaced. I enjoined being swept away in this artistic, yet horrible story about how one cannot ignore the truth or it will terminate you in the end.

project 1 #2

So I am working on my project, so far it is going really well. I think that the piece is going to be really cool. I haven't come up with a name for it though, which could be bad, considering how we have to have one soon. I was thinking of calling it the Ball and Chain, but I'm not sure if that is the right name yet. Being a "professional" artist is kinda hard. For class, we have to write an artist statement, that I have no idea what to write about my piece.
The assignment wasn't hard, once I drew around for a bit I came up with some ideas that I thought would be cool to make. It was kinda hard coming up with things to draw at first, but as I went on, it got easier. Some of my preliminary ideas were something like these....

I thought that the heart one was kind cool, but then I didn't know where I would attach my skin, as the assignment ruled necessary. The other one, which I have no idea what to call it, would have been cool, but it seemed a bit complex for what the assignment called for. So after 5 or 6 drawings that we were assigned to do for class, I basically had nothing that I felt would make a good project.

I came up with my current project while listening to our teacher lecture. I was taking notes in my sketchbook and doodling at the same time and this arose from my artistic adventure....
I thought that this would be a good project because it has a very strong backbone, or armature, and the circles also act as a sort of armature. In addition, the shading on the circles would be the sort of skin, made of paper, or nylon, or something like that.
I was kinda excited once I figured out what I would make, now a whole other adventure began. Figuring out what to make it out of.
Our teacher suggested wire, but I wanted to be original and not use it at first. After thinking about my project for days on end, I came to the conclusion that wire would probably be most conducive for the work that I want to do on this project. I got a hold of some galvanized electric fence wire, and although it is tough, and hurts my hands, it worked well for my armature. It hurt my hands at first, but I quickly learned to move with the wire, instead of being cut by it almost every time I try to do something with it.

Finished drawing with ideas of what to make the components out of.

While making the project, my first task was to create the backbone in which every thing would be attached to. To make that, my first idea was to tape the wires in the middle together and bend them all at once so they would all look similar, and then wrap them with another piece of wire to keep them together. Turn out that 15 or so pieces of wire are much stronger than I am. So onto another idea, bending each individual wire. this took about a half an hour to make them all relatively the same, however, I am glad I did it this way. It gives the piece more of a modernistic feel I think. Once I got them all bent, I tied them all together with a smaller gauged wire. It looks really cool I think. I like the way it turned out.
The next party was making the circles. I wasn't sure how to do this to make the circles perfectly round. I was going to bend them around things, but everything I used moved, making it impossible to get a good shape from them, so I went with hand bending them. It turned out that hand bending them worked a lot better, and looked better in the end.

So here it is, without the skin put on it yet. Its as far as I've gotten...

1st project

This week we were assigned our first project. The requirement/restrictions: we had to make an armature, out or something that was pliable, and cover it with some sort of skin. After drawing, a lot, and thinking, none stop, I came out with that I think I want to make. It is a sort of wave figure made of tie wire that has been bound together to make the central structure. This will symbolize the "time line" of a persons life. Off of it, circles will be attached, all of different sizes, to represent the events that happen in life that you cannot control. On these circles will be paper, with burnt edges, to represent you, trying to hide these events from the public view. It should be an interesting piece, I'm excited to start making it.

This week I also went to the Boise Art Museum and looked at Wanxin Zhang: A Ten Year Survey. It was quite interesting. The artist makes these larger than life figures that represent Chinese history combined with modern day life. He said that he's taken his inspiration from the hundreds of terra cotta solders found in China. As you can see in the picture to the right, the "soldier" of you will, has traditional dress for theses terra cotta soldiers that were found, but he has a modern twist. He is carrying an ensemble with a tie, wire rimmed glasses, and a suit jacket. Wanxin also says he tries to make everyone of his sculptures different. Giving them all facial features unique to the one that he is making, and hair that is also their own accomplishes this. What I thought was interesting was the fact that yes, they do represent human figures, but they have short, stout legs, large hands, and arms. He has truly interpreted the human figure.  I liked how he took artistic liberty, even if sometimes it didn't work as well as others, it made the art very interesting.


I also went to the Twin Falls County Fair. This fair has always been close to my heart for a very specific reason, the photography building. I love the way they have the art displayed, and the level of photographers displayed there are exceptional. It seems as though they seek out the best of that year, and ask them to display in the building. This truly evokes a feeling for the viewer. Truly an experience that I love going to every time I can. I could literally spend hours in there just looking at other photographers work, admiring the good and picking up tips for myself, since I am a photographer first and foremost. I was very blessed to see this year, since I think it was one of the best years they have ever had.