July 18, 2012
July 17, 2012
June 9, 2012
May 30, 2012
Objects and Ideas
"Objects hold ideas like amber traps insects. A sofa or a chair is an artifact of the time in which it was created, its lines and planes are what's left behind in the world when the storm of an ideology has passed by. But if we don't remember the ideas that led to the final form of the chair or the sofa, if we don't recognize the kind of insect trapped in the amber, the artifact loses all its meaning and becomes shape and line and form only. It becomes the narcissistic manipulation of outside things, becomes like a woman valued for her face who learns to ignore her heart."
-Natalia Ilyin, from an essay entitled The No-Draw Rule in her book Chasing the Perfect
May 24, 2012
Color Correct
Randy Ross has a meticulous eye. Side by side, at least one of these William Eggleston reproductions is obviously not what the artist intended. But, to notice one and dig out the other for comparison reveals a deeper level of visual awareness. The one on the left is from William Eggleston's Guide published by MoMA in 1976 and accompanied his exhibition there, the first fine art photography exhibition in color taken on by the institution. So, as Randy notes, they were very sensitive to reproduction quality as they challenged the establishment's opinion of photography and definition of art. The one on the right is from The Hasselblad Award catalog from 1998, a prestigious award to be sure. So, why so blue? In Randy's opinion the quality of art and photography reproductions in print has been sliding down hill for quite some time. He says that, "4-color separation has become such an automated process with scanner operators only concerned with color levels and dot gains for their specific presses that the art of color correcting and proofing seems to have fallen by the wayside." With exceptions of course, and for flawless reproduction he cites House Hunting by Todd Hido, published by Nazraeli Press.
The color difference in these two images is so extreme, that at a quick glance they don't even seem to originate from the same photograph. The cyan is so wrongly manipulated in the image on the right that the figure becomes lost in the ground. Whereas the integrity of the color of the older reproduction on the left is what holds the figure/ground relationship in balance and presents a stronger illusion of depth.
May 23, 2012
Shreveport Modern
That's an Allison Turrell on the right!
Oh my goodness, what a lovely weekend in Shreveport with charming and interesting folks! Our gracious hosts, Molly McCombs and Randy Ross, really know how to make a girl feel like she's on vacation. Lots of lounging time around the pool, but also smart, architectural tours of a town I would never have guessed to be so mid-century modern. And, not to mention, stacks of art and design books at our fingertips for late night perusing over a cocktail. Molly and Randy are mad book hunters and savvy book collectors. Check out the splendor of all their hard work and research at Modernism 101.
May 21, 2012
Finally, Tinkertown!
Every time I find myself in northern New Mexico, my friend Jennylee tells me I must go to her favorite museum, Tinkertown. And, this time, I'm happy to say, I finally had the opportunity to experience this folk art roadside attraction, off the beaten path in the mountains between Santa Fe and Albuquerque, and it was everything I hoped it would be. Jennylee's uncle, Ross Ward, was the mastermind behind this rambling and obsessive endeavor. He died in 2002, and his wife Carla continues to share his legacy with thousands of visitors a year.
Ward was a self-taught artist and a show painter for carnivals. He tinkered and collected and carved small kinetic figures in his free time, and then built Tinkertown to be a home for all of his creations so that he could share it with others. This dusty old west town, with its dash of Coney Island and its whiff of the county fair, is truly touching for the belief in one man's imagination enough to just follow it along.
May 16, 2012
Time-Lapse @ Site Santa Fe
Currency
Since 2007, Temple has been completing one drawing a day for her series entitled Currency. In an attempt to understand world events and politics, she studies one article a day in depth, draws a portrait of the primary world leader associated with the event, and writes a short caption underneath the drawing. The drawings are hung like a calendar by month, and the drawings in this show were up to date as of the day before! History in the making.
Sunday Paintings
Kim has been making paintings of the sky from wherever he happens to be every Sunday since 2001. Scrawled on top of the paint is a short, diaristic entry of his moods, feelings and activities on that particular day. Many of the paintings/entries touch on family life, outings with friends, an obsession with his children's education, social anxiety and a commitment to meditation. The presence of vulnerability in these paintings is what kept me moving through a year of Sundays with the artist.
Pulse Index
With a quick scan of your index finger, the viewer/participant instantly becomes a part of this video collage by Lozano-Hemmer. The most recent scan is the largest and bumps off the oldest and smallest fingerprint at the other end of the room. Each frame is pulsating with life, while it lasts.
A film from 1902, each frame hand-painted by the artist, and set to the music of the French band, AIR! A gaggle of scientists, giant mushroom forests, hoppy aliens, sexy ladies dangling from planets, dream-time adventure... What else could we possibly want?
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