Art Exhibit

The art exhibit that I attended this semester was an installation on Alcatraz Island called "TELLING OUR STORIES: The San Quentin Prison Arts Project". The project brings art workshops to inmates (including painting, print-making, drawing, theater, etc.) to act as a form of self-expression, which isn't a trait commonly found in the overcrowded prison system. It was really cool to see all the artwork made by prisoners and hung professionally; a lot of it was super impressive.

The idea that art is rehabilitating is quite interesting and the emotions conveyed through the artwork in the cramped gallery space (literally inside of the infamous prison) were powerful alongside the bars on the dirty windows and chipping concrete. The images covered topics like race and ethnic history, life in the prison system, and even gorgeous landscapes. Overall, the show was shocking and pretty enlightening because you don't really connect great screen-prints and beautiful paintings with people behind bars.

For more information:

http://williamjamesassociation.org/prison_arts/

http://williamjamesassociation.org/telling-our-stories-work-from-san-quentin-prison-arts-project/

Lecture Two

Gregg Schlanger is an artist who focuses on public art installations and the environment. He incorporates big themes like water consumption and endangered species with more natural elements like glass and water in order to convey his themes—water consumption/transportation and fishing are some of his favorite topics. Schlanger was also very personable and down-to-earth about his artwork and lecture, so it was easy to follow and engaging.

Schlanger uses art in order to convey some type of message or raise awareness about an issue (mostly environmental), but he does it in a way that is informative and artistic, rather than exploitative or shocking. He spends a lot of time collaborating with college students, which again furthers his message by educating even more people about his concepts. Out of all the artist lectures, Erin and I both agreed that Schlanger was by far the most relatable and interesting.

Lecture One

Erika Harrsch is a “visual artist” who uses a large variety of mediums (painting, digital media, audio, video, photography, performance art, etc.) in order to convey themes of nature, politics, immigration, and gender in her artwork. She collaborates closely with other artists, musicians, and even researchers in order to execute her pieces, which range from butterflies and currency, to an LED cello and gallery installations.

Harrsch spoke very passionately about her work and that passion is apparent in her meticulously hand-crafted artwork—I would probably never even want to look at another butterfly if I was her. She is truly an artist and even though some of her work and very elaborate concepts aren’t my style, her determination is commendable and the way she is able to articulate her ideas by using art is very clear and impressive. Since we have been given themes and topics to work with all year, it was interesting to see how Harrsch took it one step further, building upon her old projects and using consistent imagery throughout her career as an artist.

Recycled Art

For our group project, I hope to construct massive replications of dinosaurs (maybe even to scale). This would play on the theme of recycling as these gigantic creatures used to inhabit the lands that are now populated by people and cities and the oil reserves that our planet is so dependent upon were also created from plant and land sediment during the era of dinosaurs. Models could include a tyrannosaurus rex, a pterodactyl hanging from the ceiling, or massive skeletons of the beasts.

My individual project is going to be a suspended rain cloud with water droplets made of cardboard and/or corrugated plastic. This is extremely evocative of a cycle (since water/rain is formed constantly via evaporation). If I were to use the political signs from Joe's studio, it would also be representative of the political maelstrom that saturates the media for only a few months prior to a presidential election and suddenly all the hype evaporates, much like a monsoon. There would be hundreds of 3d droplets that hang from a cloud made of newspaper bunches or more realistic cotton material.

Assemblage

Banana Eyeball

Donut Iris

Candy Heart

Asparagus Leg

Jackalope

2064

50 years from now, I've predicted that self-medicating will have reached an all-time high. There will be prescriptions for happiness, sunscreen, cancer, and anti-aging. The list is basically endless. Due to this trend in pill-popping, aging has essentially been halted. Even at 73 years old, my altered appearance at the top right is still youthful.

Individualization is revered. Billions of people are attempting to define themselves and their style in order to stand out amongst the massive population. As a result, trends in the fashion and beauty world have reached new levels of personalization: makeup, hair styles and colors, and clothing can all be custom designed or downloaded via virtual programs and many are applied mechanically. Custom nail art is commonly crafted through 3D printing, as displayed on the model’s hand in the graphic. However, 3D printing is not a blanket solution for the industry and sustainability has become drastically important for those who work with textiles and natural resources (such as cotton) that have been heavily restricted due to their harsh effects on the environment.

Leading brands of the early 21st century (i.e. Android, Apple, Twitter, etc.) have futures that cannot be predicted—their entire platforms will likely be replaced over the course of fifty years. In the image, select logos are colored black in order to represent this uncertainty and to provide a direct contrast with the colorful pills and superficial inventions that are raging in popularity.

I made the collage in Photoshop CS6 and found many of the images online. I also used a virtual makeover program (found here) to cut, color, and style my futuristic hair.