Artist Statement

      In the past years at my old school art wasn't really such a big deal. We had art shows but that was mostly to raise money for the school. When ever I made art such as a drawing or a clay sculpture I wouldn't get any feed back and I felt like my art wasn't any good and not worth looking at. Now I realize I can make art and not just drawing or sculpturing. My favorite art project I think would be the final project. I am having a lot of fun taking pictures and making a little movie, although I found out that one minute of movie is one hour of photo taking. Although it's not a project I do like drawing and creating stuff in my sketch book. I find it fun just messing around with it.

Art 21 Reflection #3

Contemporary Art-Loss & Desire

      1# Collier Schorr

Collier Schorr was interested in photographing people acting like something they are not or the opposites of themselves. She liked the similarities and differences between things. At the beginning of the video she photographed boys wrestling. Although I don't really see the art in wrestling she like the masculinity. She liked to see the devastation and exhaustion in her photos. She also took pictures of boys acting like girls Schorr wanted to have her photos be a feminine vs. masculine theme. Her photos were somewhat like short films, the people would act to be the character that she wanted in the photo and the pictures had a small plot. A story that you could think up while looking at the picture. 

 

       2# Gabriel Orozco

Gabriel Orozco also took photos. He used everyday life and misplaced items. Orozco crafted a car to look regular on the side but then of you walked to the front of the car you realized it was narrower than usual. He wanted to show the different perspectives that the car had. He had a curiosity for things but his curiosity made his art. Orozco would take games such as ping-pong and would make it into a new game with the same rules but just change something with it. For example he to two ping-pong tables and split them in half to be and arranged them to be in the shape of a square. In the middle of the ping-pong table he put a small pond. He also made clay sculptures to photograph or took the little things in life and made them look bigger like they had more purpose. 

      3# Janine Antoni

Janine Antoni was...how do I putt this...a WEIRDO! She was also a bit self centered. Anyways she made this rope using different materials. The rope was symbolizing connections. Antoni made illusions by taking herself doing many different things such as walking on a rope that was above the water so when the rope bent it looked like she was walking on the horizon. She used herself in her art...a lot... even making her art. She painted a floor black using her own hair!

 









(This theme only had three videos instead of four.)

Process Reflection #2

     This week I accomplished not a lot but I started to work on my final project. I'm not close to being done but at least it's a start. Many things have been going on and I feel kind of stressed from other things (outside of art) and sometimes it is hard for me to get every thing done...including the blogs.

Art 21 Reflection #2

Modern Art

1st Video:

       The first video was on a photographer, Laurie Simmons. She was a quiet person who was never really allowed to show her feelings. She learned though that she could show her feeling through her photography and movies.  Simmons made some movies using hand puppets. Although the puppets didn't have any emotion on their faces she made them have emotion and made it humorous as well. Laurie Simmons also made a short play using people dressed up as random objects. The point she wanted to make was being noticed and having a chance to shine.

2nd Video:

      The second video was of Lari Pittman who wanted his paintings/drawing to have a vague meaning. He wanted the viewer to be very critical and think what they wanted.  Pittman wanted his painting to be very dramatic and somewhat violent. He also wanted to show a life death cycle in his work. For me his art is too vague and hard to really understand. I thought his pictures were strange and way overwhelming, there was too much going on.

3rd Video:

      In the third video Judy Pfaff was talking about how she like to make her art and physical art. She like to use big, heavy duty tools to make her art, such as burning tools. She made big canvas "drawings" out of fire, paint, and metal. She like to wield metal and get her hands dirty. Pfaff made her art have emotion. She also made sculptress that were eccentric. She took this huge tree root and made a huge sculpture out of it. Her art was very interesting but I couldn't really see the point.

4th Video:

      The fourth video was of Pierre Huyghe. He wanted his art to create a world for people, bring out the emotion. When he filmed he used music to set the tone and shapes. He wanted to create a myth for people. He used puppets and humor. Huyghe like to use humor because he thought it was kind of like braking the rules. To me his art was creepy but in a way kind of natural.

Process Reflection #1

What did you accomplish this week? 

Getting the portrait half way done, getting in many blog posts, and getting the group mural done.

What challenges did you face? 

Frustration with the portrait and trying to hurry by getting the mural done

What are the next steps? What do you plan to do in the week ahead? 

I plan to get the portrait done and start on the independent project. I Hope to get most of it done next week. 

Project Planning

     The plan that I had in mind for my final project was to make a video out of a whole bunch of videos, just like Pes does. I was thinking of using Legos but I don't know yet what I'm going to do with them yet (story wise). It will be fun but I just need to finish everything else first.

Sketchbook Archeology

    It seems so long ago when we first got our sketchbooks and got to start making our covers. My cover fell off a while ago so I replaced it with a non decorative piece of cardboard (Very uninteresting though). When I look through my sketchbook I notice when I get farther and farther into it that it's not just drawing anymore, it changes from paintings, cutting out things, and 'messing things up. As I said sometime before "I realized that I can do more than draw." Art class has made a difference on my art because it expanded me to more than just drawing. Although drawing to occur a lot in my sketchbook there are also some collages, paintings, cutting paper, cartoons, and writing.

Initial Reflection

    During art class this year I have learned so much. Art class always takes the daily stress away from school and it has been really fun just being able to be 'free' in this class. The past two terms I have learned many important rules about art and some things about myself. I can do more than just draw and I like feedback on my work. In my old school we never really had much class time to draw or do something for our selves that we can keep, except with clay. So if I drew a picture out of class and showed my art teacher she wouldn't really seem to care, she mostly wanted us to do crafts for the school store. Which really got boring after a while!
    Some of the more difficult things that we have had to do in class, I think, would be the group projects. It is hard to decide on one thing and agree on it, especially with a larger group. Once we do decide on something it gets easier from there. 
    What I can 'take home' from art class is the knowledge. This sound kind of cheesy but I really can, I have learned a lot this year and I can't look at art the same way as I did before. Art has been really great and I'm sad to see it end!

Art 21 Reflection #1

     The first little skit was of Eleanor Antin. She was a photographer who liked to take pictures of the past such as ancient Rome. She also like taking fun pictures of objects in different terrains. The Roman pictures were great, I thought this was a great skit because I love ancient Rome and Greek culture. She wanted people to get a feeling of what it was like in the past compared to now. Some of the other photos that Antin took were of 100 boots. She took many picture of boots 'waking' around the corner or to church. They were amusing, funny, and random pictures.
     She was a also dancer and really didn't think much of it but she thought it was a funny skill to have.

     The Second artist was a cartoonist who used words in his paintings to describe his pictures. He also made the scariest and creepiest things funny. Raymond Pettibon used poems, sentences from books, or his own writings. His pictures were kind of creepy most of the time so I didn't really like his work, but I did find it interesting how he would combine writing and painting. Some of the painting that I did like were of his trains. The trains had a lot of feeling to them and you could really come up with a story to go behind it.

      The third painter was Elizabeth Murray. She did these wacky, humorous, out of control paintings. She had all these shapes that wouldn't naturally be see together but she some how made them connect. When she made her paintings Elizabeth would first cut out shape then she would blend in colors, even the paint out, and do some wacky things to the paintings. The shapes were meant to build contrast especially when she added bright color to them, but in the end all the shapes ended up blending together. Murray would use other peoples criticism and art work to help with making her paintings (As we do in art class). She pained because she felt free and just had fun doing it.

      The fourth artist was a very peculiar artist. Walton Ford did painting and prints. He used animals in his work but he used them in a interesting way. For prints he wanted to make them look antique, just like Audibon's prints. But he made the animals (mostly birds) do weird stuff like attacking each other or doing something violent. He also puts them in odd places, It is kind of what we are doing in art class this weak. We are making a clay sculpture of an animal where you would think you woudn't usually see it .
     At first when you look at the painting you think: Wow it's beautiful! Then when you look close at it you see that something is wrong or out of place. Although most of the painting are somewhat creepy they are also pretty neat at the same time. 

Symbolic Clay Sculpture Portrait

     For the Symbolic Clay Sculpture Portrait I am going to do my paternal grandfather. He lives at his house alone and has some medical troubles. My dad has some problems with taking care of him and has a home health-aid come take care of him. He is weak and can't take care of himself do that is why I chose a fish in the desert because the fish is sad and can't really do anything, it is helpless in the desert. The fish is in the desert because you wouldn't really think of a fish in the desert.

Symbolic Portrait

     For the Symbolic Portrait I am going to do my Grandmother Miyuki. (Or as I call her Mimi) she is a very important figure in my life because she took care of me all of my life and is a parent figure to me.
      Her full name is Miyuki Joko, before she was married, and now it is Miyuki Joko Goodrich. She was born in Japan and lived there until she was about 20, (she is 100% Japanese). The war changed her life in good ways and bad; during the war she applied to a nursing school. Around a hundred people in her village applied but she was the only one who got in. While she was in nursing school she learned how to take care of wounded solders and regular patients. Some of her patients were children that had injuries from the nuclear bombs. (Flash burns and radiation exposure) One time while she was taking care of a child she patted their head affectionately but their skin on his scalp came off. She was mortified.
     When she was in nursing school she had a dream that her father came to her dorm and wished her good luck and goodbye. A few days later she got a note from her mother that her father had died, on the same day she had the dream. Soon after her father died her mother died as well as her brother. Her sister now had to take care of Mimi and their younger brother.
     Good things came to my Grandmother too, she met my Grandfather (John Goodrich or Jack) at a play. He was there because he was in the marines around the time the war was over. When she went to the play with her friends she hadn't a place to sit. My Grandfather, who was sitting up front where all of the 'whites' had to sit, gave her his seat. After the war was done they got married but since my Grandfather was American her brother wanted her to leave Japan. Jack and Mimi went to America where she met Jacks' family and where she started their new life.
     My Mom was born on October 27, 1961 than I was born February 26, 1996. My Grandmother has been living with us (my Mom, Stepfather, and me) where we hope she can stay for a long time.

I have asked my Grandmother to tell me a few stories of her life here are some facts and stories:

• She hates peas and beans now because that what she mostly had during the war.
• When the nuclear bombs were dropping she had no way to communicate with her sister. She hoped on a train and had no idea where she was going when an old woman came up to her and said to get off at the next stop where her sister and her brother would be. Mimi had no idea who this person was but she listened to her and got off the next stop where she met her brother and her sister.
• When she was little (Before the war started) she went to the beach with her family. She didn't like to swim so she was just sitting on the beach but her brother (Who thought he was a macho-man) said he could go under the net that was blocking the swimming area from the jelly-fish: man-of war. He crossed the line and got stung by a bunch of jelly fish. He fainted but someone rescued him. He was fine but it was a lesson to be learned.
• She one time told her brother (Who was younger than she and more gullible) when he was eating water melon, that if you swallowed the seeds (Which he was doing) that a vine will start to grow out of your nose, ears, and mouth. Her brother started to cry and she got in trouble. 
• She also told the same brother to lean against a tree and close his eyes. When he opened his eyes he was tied against the tree, where Mimi, again, got in trouble. 
• Her family was some-what rich and had a maid.
• Her husband, my Grandfather died when I was seven.

The Figure 5 In Gold

     The Figure 5 In Gold was created by Charles Demuth, in 1628. He used oil on cardboard and was created based on the poem "The Great Figure" written by William Carlos Williams.

Among the rain
and lights
I saw the figure 5
in gold
on a red
fire truck
moving
tense
unheeded
to gong clangs
siren howls
and wheels rumbling
through the dark city

Anistials down at bottom: W.C.W. (Poets) It was also a modern painting with no people and abstract shapes. Also there aren't any people instead there are names.

Visiting artist: Hamlett Dobbins.

     My favorite piece of work was the early morning paintings. His work is very original, and odd. (Odd in a good way) and the painting that I chose goes smoothly with "Morning Painting" because he uses bright colors that to me would represent morning.
     A question I would like to ask his is how he comes up with his ideas. When I did get to ask Hamlet he said he gets his ideas from every day life/experiences, movies, books, food, other pieces of art, his children, and just random idea that pops into his head.