When a painting becomes a sculpture...

Albert Pinkham Ryder was a Symbolist painter. His paintings are continuing to evolve even after he is dead because he would continue to had more paint, more layers before the previous layer had dried. In the end, the paint comes off of the canvas in some parts at least an inch. They have physical dimension. The way he applied the paint is an attribute to the finished whole, flowing, gestural, dynamic. By placing strong darks next to vibrant whites the viewer in engaged in the theatrical drama.

a new place to install

Jason de Caires Taylor's new work of underwater sculpture breaks the traditional boundaries of exhibition space. The location of where he shows work becomes an integral part of what the work means and looks like. His work physically evolves overtime as the water claims it as its own. The figures take on a new layer as they become a coral reef and the dying marine life gains a new environment. He places the pieces shallow enough for people to swim down and take a look at them.

Bernini

Bernini, a Baroque sculptor, was said to be able to give marble breath. The viewer can hear the grunt David let out right before he throws the stone. The viewer can see the agony that Persephone is in. So what makes Bernini's work transcend from being just marble?

He uses differences in detail and thinks of the entire composition and setting as one; not just props for his sculpture to sit in. He unifies. He brings together segments of marble, different types of marble with other material-like wood, plaster, and light. It all functions for one purpose of engaging the scene he has created.

Frosted Flakes....

I recently went to the Nelson-Atkins to do minor research for an Art History class. On my way to the African Art section, I passed through the beautiful new exhibition, 3 visions in glass; featuring 3 glass artists working in Venice. My favorite of the 3 was Yoichi Ohira. The colorless vessels speak to space that exists between exterior and interior form- or tension, as the label describes it. Lining several of these pieces together creates another level of dialogue.

"The Bamana people believe that raw clay possesses extraordinary, potentially harmful amounts of nyama, the vital , spiritual energy animating all things."

I found that statement on a label for a pottery piece in the African collection.
I connect with that.

When I work in my studio, the clay almost comes alive with the minimal plan I bring to it. Whatever is created with clay (not just from me but in my studio mates and other artists in all mediums) a personality, an atmosphere, an emotion, an idea that was not there before the artist touched it. I think the Bamana people are right, especially for Yoichi Ohira's work. He breathes life.

Nubians and Egyptians overlap

This is a beautiful terra cotta piece created by the Nubians. The Egyptians loved the Nubian craftsmanship so much they had work like this imported and painted Nubians inside the Tombs of Pharohs and any wealthy individual. They valued their work so much they wanted to bring it to the afterlife.In primitive times the Nubians could build the vessels walls paper thin, and knew the difference of oxidation and reduction.
These vessels were not made to sit on the tabletop but as offering to a deceased person. That is why the majority of these vessels wer found in graves of Egyptians and Nubians ( but the vessels in the Nubian graves were far superior than the ones found in the Egyptians).

I'm a creep

Judy Fox is a master of the human form in all stages of life. But right now her work of young children inspire and motivate me for my own studio work. To precisely sculpt a child's proportions is a challenge in itself, but the poses she places them in brings a whole other dynamic to the work.
Awkwardly alluring your eyes to stare.


In studio, as I struggle sculpting my own adolescent figure, weird social topics come up. My studio mates discuss ways to compare my piece with an actual girl. These ideas consist of going to a park and doing a couple of a few things, 1. pull aside a girl and take photos of her. 2. lure children with candy or ice cream, 3. other things I am not comfortable distributing on the internet. Besides the park, 'googling' "13 year old girls was brought up but proved itself of projected unwanted fruits.

I feel like a creeper.

wrapping for art- not christmas

Christo and Jeanne-Claude set out to wrap the un-wrappable:castles, buildings, rivers, bridges,etc. They bring the city together through the process because this couple cannot do it along. Many people work together for the goal of covering an object. Where does the funding come from? No one who admires the cloth covered Pont-neuf could purchase it and take it home. They front the cost of the project-material, labor (no volunteers), any expenses, then get it back with the selling of their drawings planning the project.

This idea of selling prep work or little mementos of their installation is very intriguing to me as a ceramic sculpture creator. Not everyone who looks at a large sculpture or installation can take part of it home, no matter how much the viewer likes it. These drawings can let the admirer take "the idea" of a work of art instead of the whole thing.