- At the top your entry, type the title and date of the lecture along with the name of the person who gave it.
- Summarize the main points of the lecture and point out at least one aspect that was new information to you or that you found particularly interesting.
- If possible, make connections between this course and the content of the lecture.
EXCERPT FROM SYLLABUS:
Museum Lectures/Visiting Artists
In addition to our projects and homework, will we attend lectures and events which are going on in the museum next door. Students enrolled in studio courses are extremely fortunate to have the Cornell Fine Arts Museum open and available to them as a supplemental learning resource. In addition, the Department of Art and Art History will also host several visiting artists and scholars who will give lectures at CFAM and CFAC. You are required to attend 2 lectures as homework assignments for the course. To receive credit, you will write a brief (250 words) response and post it to the blog under “LECTURES” no later than the following class meeting. Check http://www.rollins.edu/cfam/exhibitions/ for a full schedule of lectures. Any CFAM/CFAC artist talk, panel or scholarly lecture for Fall 2011 will count towards this assignment.
12 comments:
October 3rd, 2011
Diana Folsom
Diana Folsom gave us a very interesting lecture. Some of the main points she touched upon were the things that inspire her, such as universal processes and the fact that dirt is star dust. Also, she talked about ideas and concepts that are of interest to her. For instance, she talked about being interested in a world of ideas, how the earth works, and in general, simple/basic ideas that are hopefully timeless. In addition, she gave us advice about how to proceed towards our work. She specifically told us to "do what you truly believe in", be clear about our ideas as a lot of artists are not, she mentioned how she makes lists of what is important to her and that helps her keep everything on track and to write about our work in order to find out what we think about it.
What I thought was the most interesting thing about her lecture and her work was how she actually uses real soil and clay on her canvases. I had never seen that before. Also, I thought that her landscapes where very interesting, using interesting compositions and colors, creating some kind of mystery, and that was an inspiration for me as I am also interested in landscape and mystery. Moreover, the fact that she focuses on the formal elements in a high level was also interesting, as I am also interested and put a lot of my attention on this part to. It was an inspiring lecture to go to, and I was glad to meet her in class to.
Kim Russo Lecture
October 21, 2011
By Kim Russo
Kim Russo talked about two main points in her lecture, the journey to become an artist and her new exhibition: Family. Russo walked us through the beginnings of her artistic career starting with her adolescence where she introduced us to three important pieces that made her question her very own concepts about art. The first was the Rocky statue that was placed in front of the Philadelphia Art Museum, the second was the giant Clothespin sculpture near City Hall, and the third The Illuminating Gas by Ducahmp. All of these pieces challenged what she thought was art and caused her to begin thinking critically about art as more than objects that were “pretty.” They challenged all the norms that she had thought about art and how you interacted with it. After this she began talking about her schooling and the early steps of her career as an artist. She really emphasized finding your artist voice and staying true to it. She was very encouraging to art students and told us about how important the ideas that we thought of now would help us in the future.
Kim Russo just opened her exhibition called Family in the Cornell Fine Arts Museum. I got a chance to look at it before the opening and it was amazing to sit there with her and really just experience the art and soak it in. Family is a very sophisticated and subtle exhibition about families, particularly lesbian couples with children. When you look at these beautiful watercolor paintings of everyday family events you fail to notice that they are lesbian couples. They truly look just like any other family; in fact you even place yourself into these paintings as an onlooker in a living room. You begin to fill in the negative space with details or memories of your own life. What Russo is aiming to talk about here is that lesbian families are just the same as straight families, yet we react to them so differently. Had she labeled her exhibition Lesbian Families we would have experienced her work entirely differently and put all of these cues within it. Instead Russo leaves her giant paintings and medium size paintings, without name tags. She lets us explore the lives of these families and draws us into their intimacy.
Diana Folsom Lecture
October 3rd 2011
I found Diana Folsom to be a really charming individual. Most of the time in the past, whenever I have met with a visiting artist I had felt a bit of distance between them and myself, as if they were keeping the audience at an arms length. However, even in a room full of people Diana was able to make a connection with everyone there. She spoke pretty in depth on her journey as an artist and where it has brought her currently. Her personalized approach to an artist’s talk not only gave the lecture a sweet quality but it also was helpful and I could relate it to my personal concerns as an up and coming artist. She provided a list on her slideshow called “Finding a Direction.” She encouraged artists to “look at lots of art, make lists of what is important, do some automatic drawing, do what comes naturally and make the ideas clear and obvious.” All of her advice was general enough to make sense to a wide range of people but specific enough to actually be helpful. Also, I had never heard about flow artists before Diana Folsom’s lecture. It is kind of crazy, all the different styles and techniques that I am not even aware of and it was nice being introduced to something new. I found it really interesting.
Going to her lecture also helped me in this screen printing class (as well as my other art classes) because she discussed the concept of being clear about your concepts but still having a nice ambiguity to your work. If there isn’t any mystery, the artwork becomes less fascinating, to both the artist and the viewer. Since going to the lecture, I have been attempting to strike a happy medium between obscuring and revealing things in my art.
October 22nd, 2011
Synchronicity: Studio Faculty Biennial Exhibition 2011
The faculty exhibit this year was killer. Granted, I have only been to one other one and that particular one was also very good. I must say again though, that this year the art selected to go into the museum was super interesting both visually and conceptually. I loved the overall diversity that was present. There was a really nice blend of different mediums, from sculpture to painting, and screen printing to video. It was possible that the different mediums could have caused the show to be messy and jumbled. However, the way that it was put together really made the exhibit cohesive and successful. The pieces played off of each other instead of competing with each other for attention. I was particularly drawn to Josh Almond's work because of it's huge scale as well as all the intricate detail that went into it. It was something overwhelming while at the same time being something really delicate and reliant on precision. Overall, the show was really cool.
Also, the show can be related back to this course specifically because some of the artwork exhibited there was in fact done using screen printing! I really loved the way that the Future Bear series there was shown because it was so unique and inventive. Instead of just being placed one by one on the blank wall, there was an actual environment that each piece existed in and there was a flow and process to how it was viewed. Another really interesting thing about going to the show was watching other people react and interact with the screen printed material. A lot of people couldn't tell how it was made and even after they found out how it was, they were like "Whaaaaat." The different methods employed made it a really rich and interesting collection of works and even when I looked at it I thought some parts looked like they were hand drawn or had been filled in with crayon or something else. So much can be done with screen printing, it's crazy!
Heyd Fontenot
Nov. 29th 2011
As an artist who loves to render the human figure, I was quite excited to hear Heyd’s lecture. He talked about his creative process and mainly his interactions with his models and the body of work that is currently on display in CFAM. What I found most interesting about his work is how he wants to talk about nudity. The human body is a beautiful form, but we often hide it because we feel that there is something embarrassing, shameful, or taboo about it. Why do we feel the need to shy away and hide the figure? He also talked about how he uses many of his friends as models and sometimes they need a bit of coaxing in order to undress. Heyd has also had open modeling sessions where he uses strangers. It’s very interesting to hear about the differences in his interactions with the models that are strangers and the models that are friends. Whether he is using strangers or close friends, the portraits still have the same intimacy and beauty produced in them. Heyd talked about portraying the actual human body not these idealized super model forms. He does not “photoshop” any of his figures. He does edit them to a certain degree due to the caricature like nature of his style. But through his exaggeration of the scale in the forms he creates these lively, humorous, and beautiful portraits.
Diana Folsom Lecture:
Monday October 3. 7:00 pm
I attended Diana Folsom’s lecture. Her visit introduced many interesting ideas and methods of creating art in which she uses. I had not previously heard of the term “California Flow Painting.” Although I definitely have used it- one of the biggest challenges for me coming to Rollins was to start planning before I began my work. Now I usually have a planned proposal for my work, but some of my best pieces were created without knowing what I would do or knowing when to stop. Diana said she was drawn by materials and experiments with them; using various soil from around the world and other mixed medias. She likes the idea of water stating, “ water is a symbolic symbol of life and women.” One of the most resonating things she said was how she has remained true to herself. She shared a poem she wrote in fifth grade about stars as flowers called “Comparison” and to this day she continues to incorporate these themes within her work. She told us that in undergrad we should learn and experiment with everything, which is something that I have been doing. When you get to graduate school you figure out what to say. It is important to find a direction and to write about your work to find out what you are thinking about it. I gained a lot from her visit, especially in one on one, she helped me think about my screen-printing topic and introduced me to a variety of sources to look at for the future. Diana Folsom’s visit introduced many interesting ideas and methods of creating art in which she uses. I had not previously heard of the term “California Flow Painting.” Although I definitely have used it- one of the biggest challenges for me coming to Rollins was to start planning before I began my work. Now I usually have a planned proposal for my work, but some of my best pieces were created without knowing what I would do or knowing when to stop. Diana said she was drawn by materials and experiments with them; using various soil from around the world and other mixed medias. She likes the idea of water stating, “ water is a symbolic symbol of life and women.” One of the most resonating things she said was how she has remained true to herself. She shared a poem she wrote in fifth grade about stars as flowers called “Comparison” and to this day she continues to incorporate these themes within her work. She told us that in undergrad we should learn and experiment with everything, which is something that I have been doing. When you get to graduate school you figure out what to say. It is important to find a direction and to write about your work to find out what you are thinking about it. I gained a lot from her visit, especially in one on one, she helped me think about my screen-printing topic and introduced me to a variety of sources to look at for the future.
November 4th, MOMA visit in NYC
I went to New York for the weekend and I thought it would be good to visit MOMA as there are many legends presented there and it is a good place to get inspirition. Some of the artists I really wanted to see and enjoyed were, Picasso and his cubist period, Mondrian and his brown and grey compositions, Yves Tanguy as he had some different looking landscapes whch were a source of inspiration for my landscapes, and Salvador Dali. Dali's "Persistence of memory" is a piece that always had exhited me and it was really interesting looking at it from up close, as it is very small compare to what people think, which I believe contrasts the fact that it is one of the most well known artworks ever produced. Finally, I also saw a couple works by Giorgio di Chirico, who has been an inspiration for my prints, and I tried to immitate his sky colors.
Jacqueline Francis
16 November 2011
Jacqueline Francis discussed the issues of diversity displayed in museums and magazines. I found her lecture engaging to learn an in-depth opinion and analysis of race in American art. I was unaware of the minimal diversification relating to artists. She spoke about critical race art history and the image and definition individuals have regarding race. Critical race art allows a visual representation of the knowledge about ethnic origins. She discussed “Hide/Seek,” an exhibition in the Smithsonian, and their depiction of diversity in fine art. Hide/Seek presents gender and sexual identity. The exhibition caused controversy among the population. The next week in my Anthropology class, we had Jonathan F. Walz visit and discuss the “Hide/Seek” debate regarding a video from the exhibition. The video was removed from the enhibition at the request of the Catholic Church. Jacqueline Francis provided fresh insight toward the “difference” issue concerning men and women.
Its Always Rock and Roll: Work of photojournalist Janet Macoska
August 2011
The Rock and Roll exhibition was amazing. Macoska had incredible photographs of a number of legendary performers. They were simple photos, but the angles and lightening contributed a entirely different appearance. Her black and white contrasts were my favorite. She mainly produced in black and white, however the exhibition did include some color photos that were very vivid and intense. She captured the rock and roll performers in casual, relaxed positions. Wandering the room, I noticed all the photographs had a similar style that could only be linked to Macoska. My favorite photos contained David Bowie, Slash and Michael Jackson. Her editorials provided a personal reflection of the day she took the photo. I was truly inspired and want to attend any concerts around town to try and produce photos like Janet.
Lecture: Diana Folsom
Diana Folsom works at the LA County Art Museum in Los Angeles, California. She has been working there for many years helping out with creating an online digital collection of the art work that the museum has to offer.
Diana’s work is very textural and earthy; she sees water as a universal symbol as well as an allusion to the woman’s body. She is more drawn to materials and universal processes. She is also interested in romantic concepts of natural science and spirituality. In her work she often uses dirt to create texture; Diana sees this dirt as stardust, furthering her romantic concept.
She represents these earth processes through her painting style and technique. Her work alludes to natural landscapes and the women’s body as well. In her “Woman as a River” series she was reconnecting herself, looking inward for inspiration. She wasn’t as happy with the art she was creating earlier so Diana decided find what truly inspires her.
In her work she uses many different techniques, including flow painting, where you let the paint flow on the paper rather than using a brush. Peter Frank in California really was at the forefront of this flow painting technique. This adds to the natural feel and look of her prints, symbolizing natural water systems.
Diana gave us students a lot advice on how to be a successful artist. She suggested making lists, writing about your work, and making your art very obvious. She also explained how it was very beneficial to her to record conversations with your friends when you talk about your work. She ended explaining to us students that you must believe in what you do and to do something important for the world.
Lecture: Heyd Fontenot
Heyd Fontenot is a portrait artist who draws pictures from photographs of friends and his models. His images are very figurative; his personal relationships with these people are attached to these images. His proportions of his figures are very different, his portraits aren’t realistic, and they abstract mainly the head size of all the figures. Heyd feels that you can see more emotion and learn more about somebody based on their face, so he made them bigger so he could include more information about that person’s own personality. He simply wanted to create a larger area for more information to be seen. Going to art school and learning the “correct way” to make art, Heyd feels these portraits are his own editiorial report against traditional art and academic drawing.
All of Heyd’s models are nude in his drawings; he didn’t want to render fashion and clothing. The models are also at their most vulnerable state and must surrender to his process, so you get an even deeper look into this person. His nude paintings are realistic in the way the body types are portrayed. Heyd made a point to explain that the erotica industry perpetuates this idea and look of one type of girl, rather than all the different body types everyone has. He believes that the representations of people in porn and media are not “real” representations at all.
Heyd creates so much personality in these drawings, particularly in the faces. The faces even feel like they are looking back at you, in an active state rather than a passive model in a standard pose. Sometimes he includes animals and props while creating a sort of tongue and cheek joke with the narrative his portraits illustrate.
Cultural Property Panel Discussion: Contested Object: Ninomiya Kinjiro
Wednesday, October 26- 6:00 p.m.
This lecture was a panel discussion, focused on an appropriated sculpture of the Japanese figure Ninomiya Kinjiro and the events surrounding the statue’s repatriation to Okinawa in 1995. The discussion was led by Dr. Libby and Cory Baden. Dr Libby gave some background on how Rollins got the sculpture, saying that it was donated by an alumnus in 1946. The bronze statue stood in the Warren Administration Building at Rollins College until an Okinawan historical society requested its return in 1994. This led a debate concerning the statue’s rightful ownership. It was interesting that this happened at Rollins because the only appropriation case I have really had known about is The Elgin Marbles. The panel was led by professors including Dr. Vander Poppen, Dr. Walz, and even former Rollins president Dr. Rita Bornstein. The end result of the discussion was that the college did make the right decision in returning the statue because of the history of the statue and what it represents to the Okinawans. Now Rollins owns a copy of it and it will be housed in the Warren Administration Building.
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