(For those of you interested in the idea of stop-motion...The Brothers Quay)
Hello All,
Please click on the comments link at the bottom of this post.
Write your responses to the "Group 5" presentations.
9/24, Week 5 – Group 4:
18. Pamella Reimers
19. Jennifer Robey
20. Sophie Strachan
21. Shannon Toale
22. Caitlin Tucker
Pam-Your patience for meticulous work and your enthusiasm for experimentation with form and material yields an impressive collection of jewelery. I've never seen any of the small metals work you showed yesterday, and I think they are exquisite and sophisticated. I like all the ways you've combined materials that surprise me...I want to take my time exploring every little detail of everything you make.
ReplyDeleteJen- It's a tough call-whether art is worth the potential offended viewer. I think it's different for every artist, and ultimately you should defer to your gut instinct to decide the answer, which, for me, changes often. For what it's worth, when you do take risks with the content of your paintings, though, you've turned out some pretty captivating and powerful work. However, your grasp of the human body will probably carry the work pretty far on its own, even when you are scared to cross a line. I'm excited to see what you decide to do.
Sophie- I want to be inside your head for a couple of hours. Holy shit! Where does all this stuff come from?? My only criticism for your work is that you don't seem to realize when you've got a good thing going--so NOTICE and exapnd upon all these brilliant ideas and methods of working! Just the work you made in your sketchbook over the summer make me think of a million possibilities for where you could go...
Shannon- I think your new abstract paintings are really exciting formally. And the content (all the research and thinking you've done about skulls) is exciting. So why not see what the currently distinct work (one heavy on formal power and the other on content) does when you mash it together? It could lead to you thinking about a lot of the things you mentioned as difficulties in class being resolved (background, relevance of subject matter, space, color...although I think you have color pretty nailed down.)
Caitlin- I think you'll continue to reap the rewards for cutting up your most precious and distressing piece. Already, you are thinking about the work in new ways, and when you start to burn out, remember there are other things you can do to negate preciousness--other manipulations of the state of material, other manifestations of your subject matter, layers of meaning that can be pushed. Scarification is going to be fun to watch evolve in your studio this semester.
Sophie Strachan
ReplyDeletePam- You have an awesome sense of craft and care. I really enjoy when you use color and different textures and materials. You should think about using mixed media to your advantage. I think you can create a strong object when combining materials and imagery purposefully.
Jen- I think you’re on the right track and you need to explore personalities of the figure a lot more. I think environments will help a lot and also tweaking your color palette. I know you have a definite color palette that I see in most of your paintings, but I think adding more of one color or changing something so that it relates and is more specific for individual paintings.
Shannon- In the paintings of the faces I don’t mind the backgrounds, but in your new skull painting I feel like it doesn’t fit. I was thinking it would be awesome if there was a way to combine your abstract paintings (for background) with the skulls. It may be a lot more interesting and the background may not be so generic feeling.
Caitlin- I love your colors and I’m actually really interested in the figure that you did after the fellowship piece. I think it’s interesting how it’s sort of fragmented in a way and not completely rendered but it feels complete. I think the piece you are working on right now is a bit fragmented and I know it’s not very far, but you just need to think about how to make it a whole made of parts.
Pam-more recently it seems you have been incorporating different materials into your work instead of just metal and it is very interesting, When you were explaining your work it seems like you have many different concepts for your work that go in many different directions, but whatever direction it takes, you produce very well made work.
ReplyDeleteJen- You have become very good at painting the figure, but you need to add more to the painting then someone looking out to the side. The painting of your parents and brother I feel are going in the right direction, with more of a sense of emotion and body language.
Sophie- I feel like your more recent work is very strong and sort of a starting point onto something big for you. It is becoming more and more interesting and you are going in the right direction.
Shannon- I very much enjoy your skull paintings, especially the scale they are painted in. Some of the skulls look like a less obvious animal, and I think that could be an interesting thing to work with. The skull with the patterned background worked well for me also.
Caitlin- You have a way of painting ugly things beautiful. Even though cutting up your fellowship piece was a big risk, it is a good thing you let your self do it. Your figure pieces seem to have a certain attitude to them and I think you are your best model.
Sophie- I liked your cutouts but part of me wishes there were more intricate. I guess its because I enjoy fine detailing, however, as a viewer I want to spend more time lost in your work. The different colors and abstract shapes help but I can’t help but want more of it. I want my eyes to be overwhelmed and unable to look away.
ReplyDeleteCaitlin- Someone in the class mentioned how they thought it was vital for you to understand how scars actually look and I completely agree with that comment. I think its extremely important for you to render scars realistically otherwise they’re going to look more like body painting. Maybe you can experiment with actually cutting into your painting…? I don’t know but I think scarification is an interesting topic to work with and you should continue working in that direction.
Pam- I love how you’re starting to incorporate your love for tribal arts into your work. I think that it’s a great fit for you and it’s enhancing your work significantly. I got really excited when I saw your mass production wood/mixed media pieces. You should definitely continue experimenting with materials. ( I’m going to bring you a piece of wood called purple heart.) And I definitely want to see the larger wooden piece that you’re doing for studio.
Jen- I don’t think you should be hesitant to use your family life/ personal issues as the subject matter in your work. I can understand how you may be afraid to offend your family but in the end you need to do what you want to do and not what your family want to do. At first your choice of color seemed acidic to me which at firstkinda bothered me, but in a way it acts as relief and takes away the seriousness of the subject matter.
Shannon- When you were speaking about your work you said something about social structure and identity and I’m a little confused by this because I don’t see any relation between those topics and your work. Besides not understanding the context I enjoyed your animal skull paintings but part of me wishes they were rendered more.
Pam, your use of wire is strong and demonstrative of your knowledge of technique, but what is definitely most interesting to me are your mixed media pieces. I realize your internship pendants were the beginning experiments of a larger idea you’re now elaborating on, and while I’m not crazy about their shape, I really enjoy the riveting, layering of textured metal on top, and the piece that is addressed on the sides. I don’t know how I feel about the look of the epoxy resin on the wood in those pieces, but I like it very much on the pieces that aren’t wood. Your minimal wood burned lines are an interesting element; I’d like to see that more. I am excited about your large wearable sculpture pieces; you’re onto something really awesome there.
ReplyDeleteJen, your paintings have eeriness about them, which is intriguing and a little unsettling. The pieces that work best for me are close up portraits, mostly just of faces. You have really great drawing skills, and in some ways I much prefer the line quality in them to your paintings – if there was some way of incorporating more drawing and line into your paintings I think that would be compelling. I also really like your ceramics, in particular the architectural piece. I don’t know if you’re interested in that much, but I think it’s something worth exploring.
Soph, while your cut outs are finely crafted and offer an interesting texture, I am really excited by your recent drawings. I can see the influence in the lines from the cut outs, and I think it works even better drawn. The imagery of them is somewhat tribal and earthly, the colors and patterns vivid like lots of indigenous art from multiple origins. I like the intensity of their detail; they’re beautiful, please keep doing them!
Shannon, I was totally impressed by your work. In particular your skulls on top of solid colors (my favorite was the one on top of a lavender), they are beautiful and breath taking. They feel peaceful, deserty, and airy. The colors and application of paint reminds me of O’Keefe. Your most recent abstract pieces, especially the one with the checkers, are awe striking in a different way. Your prints are ethereal also, and in general I love your palette.
Caitlin, I enjoy the intensity of your color palette, and the sharpness of your lines. You showed one landscape, I think it’s a watercolor, and I really love that piece. The ones that have drips and light, pale colors are my favorites. I like your mixed media piece a lot also, you should think about incorporating collage, as I think you are working on now. Keep doing what you’re doing!
Pam- I think your jewelry is beautiful and I always admire the craftsmanship it takes to create jewelry. My favorite pieces you showed were the gold ring with the red inlay and the necklace with the gold plates. I wish that you had shown a broader range of the work you had made and I am looking forward to seeing the kind of work that comes from you studying sculpture books.
ReplyDeleteJen- I love the color palette that you use and your portraits have a certain eeriness that I love. Don’t be afraid to dive in to those personal issues to make your work more individual to you. I think the idea of using friends to pose in place of using the actual people would work well because you are dealing with these situations with out directly affecting the people they are about. You are definitely on the right track I think you just need to try experimenting with the figure in different ways such as sizes, environments, and color palettes.
Sophie- I was very surprised and excited to see the drawings you have been working on. I agree with people in class who discussed that every once in awhile you just seem to pop up with these ideas I never see coming. I love the paper cut outs but I feel like they could benefit from being cut from something dimensional like wood or styrofoam. If you prefer to use paper I think you should experiment with different ways in displaying them. Possibly hanging from the ceiling in layers or just adding space between the layers?
Caitlin- I have followed you working very closely and spend a lot of time in your studio but I have never seen your work all grouped together like this. I love your idea of painting ugly things in a way that makes them beautiful, but I feel like you need to in general create more work. You have a habit of diving in without preparation (which I know I do too) but I think you would really benefit from doing many studies and creating a body of work from this idea, not just one large piece. Really spend some time studying scarification through drawings and little paintings so you can make as strong a piece as possible.
Pam Reimers
ReplyDeleteI think you should research your Haitian roots, perhaps voodoo, (haha JK!!!) but maybe like ancestral gods or spirits or what have you like I am exploring with Taino roots. Since you are already on that path. I must say I love the ring you created, it looks futuristic, and I love it. I would love to buy one! You should make a whole bunch. I think you could sell them, but I didn’t know how much you would want to price them for. I think you are on the right path with your idea of supersizing one of your jewelry pieces, like how we had the big (ugly) shoes in our school on display in the hallway, maybe you could make something amazing like a huge ring! It would be a very interesting shape to investigate.
Jen Robey
I like the idea of you taking awkward situations and making paintings out of them, it is something I hardly ever see, and it is funny also. I would say try to explore different or awkward faces or body positions that say many things without words. I think you’re on to something new and it will be a conversation and dialog between the viewer and the painting. I would even think about making a room in which the awkward situation took place, say for example a fight, I would shatter a vase or break glass, I think if u made somewhat of an environment it would be funnier and easy to decipher what’s going on or what happened between the people
Sophie Strachan
I am a fan of your precise cutting and skill with the knife; it is something I can’t really do very well so it’s commendable. I think working with paper was a good move for you but I love you paintings you make. When you paint form collages you made. I love you idea of introducing new elements such as wood for an added effect and sturdiness, it will be a great move for you, and fun and exciting to do. I would love to go down into the wood shop and pick up some scraps with you and just build some funky forms. I did that in like sculpture 2? For the bird house project, and it was fun, Dani is doing the wall installations of that now and they are turning out really cool and how Mallory did the figure cut outs and floor wood pieces, so its something to think about and ask questions. It’s really good to pull from other people’s ideas, like others from your paper cutting.
Shannon Toale
I love the ambitions of your paintings, you tend to go big and make a few large and very thought out pieces. I recently saw your post on face book, the paintings you projected onto a wall stacked with boxes, and it was genius! I want to try that at my house, I have a huge wall where a twin once stood, and burned down. My house was built after and there is now little narrow passage between my house and a huge wall. I wanted to paint a mural on it. I also had the idea of projecting images onto the wall for a party or something, and now I sort of have to do it! Perhaps for our class graduation party. Also I have to commend you on bringing new ideas to the table such as paintings onto of the clear Mylar, I really appreciate it because we all bring something new and its interesting to see how others think.
Caitlin Tucker
I think you have made a good move in cutting out your paintings because it opens many more doors. Other than that, I like the neon colors you use along with the figure. I liked your landscape drawing as well, the way the colors blended together and then revisiting id with pen and ink. I would investigate that more because it seems to be the most successful so far. But I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what you come up with after your new endeavor unfolds.
Mallory Lawson
ReplyDeletePam: There is no doubt that you are a talented jeweler. But I definitely think that you are also a great sculptor. I want to encourage you to work larger, if it doesn’t work out and you don’t really like it, then at least you tried. Now is such a great opportunity!
Jen: I think you are going in the right direction, continue to be influenced and inspired by the people and relationships around you. I think you really captured that awkward and uncomfortable tension that you wanted in the portrait of your parents. Also, I think you are an amazing painter, I really love your work, especially your use of color.
Sophie: Your cut outs are so beautiful, mostly because of how delicate they are, how they are barely hanging on to the wall. I feel like they kind of lose those qualities when they are attached to a panel. What’s the point of cutting them, making those intense areas of negative space, just to glue them to a panel? I really want to see you make one out of MDF on a ban saw!
Shannon: Your skull paintings are incredible, I am so excited to see some new animal skulls! Continue to explore the ways you address the background. And I really love the Shawn Barber/ tattoo ideas. I know you are already doing this, but research the meaning and symbolism of tattoos for all different cultures, that could really open up some new doors.
Caitlin: I am really excited to see this new direction that you are moving in, although I don’t completely understand it, the idea of the room as a book, creating wall paper and more small paintings, should be awesome. I love being surrounded and completely engulfed by an installation.
Brianna Barton
ReplyDeleteSeptember 29, 2010
Critical Discourse
Group Feedback
Pam- It looks like you are in the process of discovery right now. The overall aesthetic of your work varies from piece to piece. I think that your craftsmanship is strong, but the composition of the pieces could benefit greatly from more carefully considered design. I also agree that a harder wood prove easier to work with and result in a better looking piece of jewelry. I think that paying attention to how the different materials and shapes work together will only further your work. I think you have an earnest eye—your dedication will take you places others’ won’t.
Jen- I know I talked a lot during your crit, so I’ll keep this brief. The greatest power you have over the viewer is to express to them a tension, or secret in your paintings.
Your faces have so many layers to them—that is where discomfort is best communicated—and they are so carefully attended. See what you can do when you focus as much effort into the rest of the painting as you do to the faces.
I know everyone was rooting for larger paintings from you, but if a viewer doesn’t need to get close to the work to see it, you’ve provided space—an opportunity to examine these paintings from a safe distance. I think that takes away from the personal connection that could happen between viewer and painting. Do you know what I mean? A small painting forces the viewer to get close, maybe closer than they’d like to a piece that is so personal, unforgiving and pretty uncomfortable at times.
Sophie- You’ve created these amazing creatures—you should put them somewhere! You’re generating an entire world. I think it’s fabulous. All i think is that if you ever feel stuck, you should just make—make anything, if for no other reason than to keep your hands busy. Everything you make, no matter how seemingly banal, will lead to something. Probably not directly, but eventually :)
Shannon- I feel like you could go in any direction with your work and you would arrive at a smart, beautiful body of work. I can see you are already understanding the abstraction of space, though your imagery needs time to develop. You clearly have representational painting down pat, maybe see what happens when you start exploring the challenges that your abstract work offers you. Or, just do it like Early does: smash the two together. The world needs more fantastical work like that.
Caitlin—I am curious and excited to see how your new project will turn out. One of your biggest struggles though (and I’ve seen it in CS too), is your freaking humongous ideas. There are amazing and crazy and all over the place and brilliant and pretty damn hard to accomplish in one year as a double majoring senior. You’ve figured out a way to still execute a really intelligent and exciting exhibition without pitting yourself against impossibilities (don’t worry Cailtin, one day you’ll be able to curate a reenactment of Conical Intersect ☺). Don’t be afraid of simplifying your studio work, too. You can say everything you want to say in a piece without it becoming a task too large to carry out in a semester… ESPECIALLY as a double major…
Courtney Coolbaugh
ReplyDeleteShannon Toale
I really liked seeing your new abstract piece (especially when you projected it on the pedestals). I really like how you plan out your backgrounds with patterns, but I especially like the green (newer) one because it had an abstract depth to it. Since you are really interested in skulls and in background patterns, maybe you could make the skulls the background (painted with as much detail as the large ones) and something else could go in the foreground (big stripes in the shape of a skull or a polka-dot virgin mary since you talked about religious symbolism.)
Pam Reimers
Your jewelry is beautiful. You mentioned an interest in non-specific tribal symbolism – you should research specific shapes and incorporate those into your pieces that were (bone/wood?) arbitrary shapes. I definitely read your pieces as being tribal, but I am unfamiliar with tribal art. If you used more relevant shapes you would cause the viewer to question the meanings (or symbols) behind them and they would become exploratory devices as well as ornamental jewelry pieces.
Jen Robey
You really have a good sense of color in your portraits. I feel like the images are very personal and that the people in them are trying to express something. There is a space between the viewer and the image that is begging to be filled with a conversation about the visual content. I liked the mixed-media piece with the newspaper background – maybe you could incorporate more found elements that are relevant to the image/concept.
Sophie Strachan
I think your cut paper projects are really amazing – your attention to detail, your color choice, and the illusion of depth are really captivating. I think you should definitely try to cut these out on wood to capitalize on the shadows that could happen in the negative spaces. I also think you should try printing on top of the paper with stencils and graffiti or woodblock carvings. The work you did over the summer was a nice surprise. Side note – I also enjoy seeing new figure paintings emerge weekly in your studio. I like how you capture the shadows.
Caitlin Tucker
There was a small painting in the middle of your presentation that looked like a girl stepping into a bear trap – I don’t know what it was about but I want to see more or know more about it. I’m excited to see what you are going to do with your cut fellowship piece. Maybe you could cut out the other two yous and weave them all together. Maybe not, I’m picturing lots of assemblage. You mentioned patterns on skin. I really liked how you made scars look decorative. Maybe you could paint on a different surface besides canvas ( I think you mentioned lace) like leather that comes with bumpy texture but is not so obvious.
Jen - I have noticed a growth in your work from last semester to now. You seem to be more comfortable in exploring colors and you have more structure and theme to the works you are creating. You are definitely onthe right path.
ReplyDeleteSophie - I feel that you help on to a certain color palette that worked well for you last semester. Although most of the colors you used in your cut outs here saturated it worked. Prior to last week when we visited your studio I would have made the suggestion that maybe you incorporate the use of paper in your paintings, and to my surprise... you DID! I was excited by that because I didn't even know you did that. I love the idea and I think you are doing great in that studio :)
Shannon - Shannon, you are one of my favorite artist @ school. I think you not only understand art, but you understand the emotions that goes with it with your use of colors and subject matter. You evoke certain emotions from me when I look @ your work and I love that. I'm not just standing there starring @ something that I am told how to feel. You express your emotions in your work and i drift off into that emotion with you when i see your work. I think you are very close to perfection (so to speak) and I look forward to you thesis!!
Caitlin - Caitlin, I think that you were in a crazy headspace last semester that forced you to produce this mass amount of work that almost drove you crazy. But know what? It worked!! It pushed you so close to the edge that you created some good things. Although the background color in the large painting wasn't my most favorite, I liked the idea you had behind the theme. I would like to see another large painting from you because you put so much of yourself into last time.