Idea Post/Visiting Artist Lecture: Alec Soth 1-27-09

Alec Soth

Alec Soth is a photographer with not only an amazing sense of humor, but a strong dedication and yearning that drive the creation of his work. He began his lecture with a film of Lee Freelander's traveling photography. The short film was light and playful and showed the joys of creating work on the road. This idea of being able to move freely throughout the country driven by nothing but pure desire with no constraints or requirements is THE driving force behind a vast majority of Soth's work.

His method of traveling from photograph to photograph is also unique. Soth makes connections between subject matter through intellectual development. He takes a sheep's portrait and then relates that sheep to the study of dreams and sleep (counting sheep as you sleep), so he makes a portrait of a patient hooked up to a polysomnograph (a machine used during sleep to aid in detecting sleep disorders and research).


"Joshua, Angola State Prison, Louisiana" 2002


"Bonnie (with a photograph of an angel), Port Gibson, Mississippi" 2000

Because of his image development method, Soth's concept also changes throughout the birth of a series. For example, his series "Niagara" first began as an exploration of love and an interest in why people often travel to the Niagara Falls for wedding ceremonies or honeymoons. Later, he found his project evolving into the sexual exploration and "distrust of new passion."


"Two Towels" 2004


"Impala" 2005


"I can't go on like this" 2005

Soth describes his developed photo method as "photographing democratically" inspired by William Eggleston. Hearing him speak of his connections below the surface and simply photographing whatever he wants was inspiring. Trusting instinct (instead of planning) can lead to works of art.

http://www.alecsoth.com/

Visiting Artist Lecture: Ayumi Horie 1-28-09

Ayumi Horie

Ayumi Horie is a potter/ceramic artist whose work combines duality, comfort and narrative. As a Japanese-American, Ayumi assimilates her racial duality to her pottery by blending materials, relationships, and illusions of comfort. She also relates the height of her work (generally short) stems from the Japanese belief that the human soul is located closer to the center of gravity (stomach region) than the heart. Her shorter vessels speak to comfort and control.

Horie's creation of mugs, bowls, etc also differs greatly in that she throws dry and instead of traditionally shaping the clay (throwing/pulling it upward), she carves pieces out of clay or porcelain.

Often, she incorporates animals by carving through slip or adding decals. She explained that it is easy to relate to animals as they are frequently anthropomorphized in cultures throughout the world. She often thinks of her ceramic pieces as paper in which she uses drawings and glaze to create relationships of a didactic, narrative, or comforting nature.

Summing up her lecture, Horie explained the importance of creating objects for touch in a world that is "going digital." As a potter, she has the power to communicate with people in a manner that will never die. People will always need to eat and she has the capability to provide the vessel through which people fulfill their survival.




http://www.ayumihorie.com/

Informal Craft Dept Artist Lecture: Ashely Lyon 1-25-10

Ashley Lyon

My interest in material studies and the love of working with my hands led me to investigate and eventually establish a craft minor here at VCU. The line between my craft and photography work often becomes blurred, and the two run together. Thus, a majority of artists and research I accumulate fall outside of the photographic field and the visiting artists I choose to attend are brought to VCU by the craft department.

The major difference between photo/film and craft visiting artist's lecture topics is concept vs technique. Photography/film artists speak (almost entirely) about the conceptual side of their work while visiting craft artists base a majority of their lecture on techniques and materials. Critiques within each department follow in a similar manner, which is always eye-opening for me.

Today I not only listened to Ashely Lyon speak briefly about her ceramic and sculptural work, but I participated in an hour and a half long hand building demo. Demonstrating techniques, tools, and the importance of 'looking' rather than perceiving were a few of the topics she touched on, but the most significant thought I walked away with today was the amazingly individual relationship our human hands have with the texture and characteristics of clay. Clay is one of the most forgiving materials an artist can work with. It may even be the most human. When clay is wet, it gives off the same sheen as our very skin- a texture or finishing that many artists strive to maintain within their ceramic work, but will never be able to successfully preserve.

Lyon continued to reiterate the importance of taking time to look at and study the object you are modeling. Recreating objects from memory or perceptions is almost always unsuccessful when attempting to be realistic. "You should spend almost more time looking at your object than you do recreating it," she says.

An excerpt from her artist statement:

You look you trust you doubt you trust you look again. I view art as a circular pursuit of knowledge. Above all, I want my work to be honest. This aim is complex in a culture where truth can be extracted from both the sincere and corrupt... Realism is not an experiment in the reiteration of a hand, foot or head; realism is to locate the sensation of being human.

ashleylyon.com

1-24-10 Artist Post, Jennifer Khoshbin

Jennifer Khoshbin

“My work expresses the idea of the story, fable, or tale, attempting to sort out the past and create new beginnings. How these stories have affected me and my culture are represented through a combination of book and animal sculptures, drawings and writings. I am artificially re-imagining things in a handmade wilderness.”

Khoshbin creates her animals/insects from paper mache and decoupage covered resin casts. They then get coated with nature, home, or life inspired paper.

She domesticates these animals by transforming their outermost layer with false sedentary, familiarized paper- trapping them and making them safely available for YOUR living room. The truth is, I desperately want one! And so do many other people, as she sells these sculptures on Etsy for a fancy dollar or two.


"Big Bad"



"Deer Trophy Project"


"Ferdinand's Friend"

http://www.jenkhoshbin.com/home

Why the sudden revitalization of taxidermy? I have found myself drawn to it since I was a child and don't see my fascination dying anytime soon (no pun intended). Taxidermy use seems to be growing in many art fields: fashion, fine art, interior design, furniture design. Maybe I only think taxidermy has seen a revitalization because I have been researching it so much lately. What do you think?

Graduation: Eminent

We are about to graduate and the pressure is ON! I have no idea what I will or even want to do after I graduate. Where could you see me working? Will I even have a camera in my hand? I hope so.

Here are some interesting college facts...

http://www.onlinecollegesanduniversities.com/college_america

Latest Inspirations

Rob Dougan's Clubbed to Death

Rob Dougan (also known as Rob D) is a composer who blends elements of "orchestral music, trip hop, and bluesy vocals" in such a method that parallels electronic music. His 1995 "Clubbed to Death" single was popularized by The Matrix.

Personally, I can't stand The Matrix series, but Dougan's song is on point with beauty, inspiration, and grace.

Latest Trip to Staunton, Va

These are some images from my latest trip to my grandparent's house in Staunton, Va. I'm pleased with the amount of development I am already seeing in this work (compared to my first trip) and I'm very excited for senior portfolio next semester!

Photo Trips to Staunton, Va

Over Thanksgiving break, I made a trip to my grandparent's house in Staunton, Va. I haven't been to this house in almost 6 years. There are many memories of growing up held inside those walls and revisiting the house was very sad. My grandmother has been in a hospital for almost 8 years after having a brain damaging stroke and my grandfather has been left to live in this house alone. As a result, the family no longer meets for family holidays in Staunton, but in Charlottesville (where the nursing home is located). The house is a mere skeleton of what it used to be and it's hard not to compare my memories to the empty home.

Aside from setting up shots in their house, I took time to rediscover all the old rooms and artifacts I found intriguing as a child. The downstairs closet still smells of mothballs and the wall paper throughout the house is just as 70s as it always was. Old portraits still stare out of their dusty frames and the curtains stick from not being opened in years. I realize I miss the old days of family Christmases and Thanksgiving dinners and that I never appreciated them as much as I do now.

I took the liberty of bringing back one book that I always thought was particularly interesting and just plain weird. I don't think my grandfather will miss it. I don't even think either of my grandparent's knew it was there. I don't plan on ever giving it away. It's strange what objects we eventually find ourselves attached to.

"Gnomes"
Text by Wil Huygen
Illustrated by Rien Pourtvliet

This book is a detailed description of almost every aspect of gnome life. It covers skeletal structures, evolution (primitive gnome species), family life, animal interaction, dangers, healing, and various gnome legends. I remain amazed that someone went into such detail fabricating a non-existing species, documenting their existence, and explaining their ability to live undetected among us. I couldn't help but entertain their possibility when I was a child as I scanned their bizarre living habits.

Here are some pages I found interesting and strange:



As a kid I found the above page rather shocking, if you can imagine. The gnome's height is such that gravity does not affect their bodies the way gravity affects ours. Female gnomes go through life without ever wearing bras. Strange detail.


Honeymoons with animals as transportation.


Half the map of a traditional gnome house.


Due to their harmonious relationship with animals, gnomes acted as doctors for many species. Above, a gnome performs surgery to remove a sharp object lodged inside a goat's paunch.


Gnomes also have enemies: trolls (particularly in northern Europe, Russia, and Siberia). Trolls have been known to catch gnomes and torture them!

Hope this post is amusing for you as well!