Understanding Art School.

While reading the few pages on Simpson I realized how much of an activist she is for her cause. She brings this out in her artwork to by showing us the “true colors” of our culture. She does not photograph in color but instead in just black and white. I think this is representational of what she is trying to portray because she’s looking for the differences in black and white culture. In most of her photographs I see how she is portraying the differences in looks between the two. I can see her trying to bridge the gap between in skin color by only using black and white photos. In my opinion this is really effective. As for now I don’t have any friends who have this strong opinion behind all their work but I know a few people who really enjoy black and white photography. The reason they usually like it is because it allows us to focus on the true points of the photo and in Simpsons work I think this is evident. She gets straight to the point and often does not make you wonder. I really enjoyed this piece with all the different types of hair on thewall because you immediately understand that she’s trying to convey the differences between the two but at the same timeshowing you how alike they are. 

 In Madison there are many sites to see and many places to visit. While on our field trip there I found out a few interesting things I had not known, however, it was basically a refresher of what I already knew from being a Wisconsinite. Nevertheless, I still learned some new things about The Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, the Capital Building, and the ever so famous State Street.

In the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art I found great things around every corner. From the roof to the ground, it was intriguing on every level. With exhibitions dealing with how artist picture society, to modernist Mexican prints, then to the magic of Houdini I found endless things to learn about. Upon entering the Mexican print exhibit I felt an overwhelming sense of heritage. In all of the pieces I also saw a great sense of heritage. They were all very beautiful and intriguing to view. However, Houdini: Art and Magic was my favorite exhibit because of how it captured the essence of magic as an art. We see magic everyday and view it as performance art but seeing it as an actual piece of art was a whole new experience. I thoroughly enjoyed all the short video clips that were displayed because you really were able to transport into them and just imagine the craziness of it all. Any other man would be seen as bluntly foolish to attempt half the things Houdini attempted. To be able to see the objects that he used in the tricks was especially pleasing however. One of my favorites was the piece involving the all the handcuffs that Houdini used in his tricks. Something special about that piece was the shadows it also created. As an artist I thoroughly enjoy when lighting is used to enhance a piece and it was used very well in this one. It was also really interesting to see the oddly shaped handcuffs and just imagine how hard they would have been to get out of and how much pain it could have caused him. I did find this exhibition especially haunting though with all the handcuffs and torture techniques. It was haunting to be there and I think that is what intended because the look Houdini tried to display was in itself almost haunting seeing as he forced you to see very strange things because your curiosity got the best of you. Unfortunately, I missed out on seeing the E Pluribus Unum but I was able to view special prints online and found them to be quite interesting. Though most pieces were out of my art range I connected most with the photograph of the couple in downtown Manitowoc, Wisconsin. I really like the quality of the print and the place it was photographed. One think I noted about this museum was its commitment to the Midwest and more specifically Wisconsin.

In Wisconsin we have a lot of traditions and many interesting places where these traditions take place. One of the most important sites of Madison is State Street, it’s a place we should all visit and I’m glad we were all able to. The diversity of places to go and places to eat is immense. There are restaurants on top of restaurants on top of stores, its mad! I had personally visited State Street many times before but would never pass up a chance to go. On my appearance there I decided to try a new restaurant called Asian Kitchen because I was told it was the most delicious Asian food around. Gladly I tried it and was able to have a whole new State Street experience enjoying some amazing food. When you visit State Street you a guaranteed an experience you will most likely cherish.

Another cherished experience of Madison is one I had as a child, and was able to relive upon visiting Madison, of taking a tour of our Capital. As I child I’m sure most of the Wisconsinites that go to MIAD experienced the classic 3rd grade trip to our States Capital. As an adult though, I was able to experience the heritage of our capital even more. I learned more than I thought I would about it seeing as I thought I already knew everything. One of the more interesting places I had never had the joy of seeing was the painting inside of the special rooms for legislature and such. I thought it was especially interesting to see the ghost man emerging from one of the paintings where he was replaced by our state animal, a badger. As I was able to relive the extensive detail in our Capital I was able to really appreciate all the work that took place to make the Capital what it is.

Just like the Contemporary Art Museum, State Street and the Capital were also interesting on every level. Everyone should be able to visit Madison’s sites at least once if not more. Therefore, I feel the visual culture Madison posses is well worthy of all the attention it gets.

Internal: Jan Harrison

“The figures come from her; she refers to them as,  “a treasure, a deity within me, a divine thing.””. (126)

“Harrison’s immersion has proceeded toward self-obliteration.”(127)

The impulses fuse together… one was powerful and wild, the other shy and modest. (129)

“Her work serves now as a myth served in the past: “Mythical thought moves from an awareness of contradictions toward their resolution and stories of the topsy-turvy state of things in the world of myth attempt to meditate between opposites and resolve them.”” (131)

I choose these quotes because I think they show how internal this artist is. I understand what Linea Weintraub is saying about the idea of an internal artist and I think this is a great example of one. Jan Harrison is someone who really embodies her art and has a very personal connection with it; in a way it controls her life. She speaks of how it would posses her and lead her to make these objects or animals.

External: Hubert Duprat

“In his search for the first image making impulse, he imagined the era prior to arts commonly recognized commencement.” (176)

“He includes a type of artistic construction that originated before the human species had even evolved and that continues to this day.” (177)

He searched for the answers and found inspiration in that rather than having the inspiration already inside of him. I think this can be seen in some of our more structured courses at MIAD. Where we have to research and come up with some source of content rather than just whimsically making. So in this way I see how he might externally seek this inspiration and how that’s seems to be different from Jan Harrison’s work.

I think the artists who find inspiration externally would connect and enjoy both works because they strive to attain an inner sense of inspiration but are left with just a external sense. And I think Internal artists will only connect and really enjoy internal work because they may not find external work worth while.
I find that I am an external person.

Juxtapose (by providing evidence w/ specific examples) of who most effectively & least effectively presented the PATH they took to get where they are professionally today, and whether they provided information that could be useful to your future PATH, and how.

I met and listened to multiple artists and I believe they all presented great arguments for how you should push your career further. While meeting with the freelance photographer, Katie Donoghue, I heard her talking about internships. She talked about how she was an intern at the Milwaukee art museum as a curator, not a photographer, but she still enjoyed the experience. She said she wanted to try her hands at being a curator, she didn’t like it but she said the experience was totally worth it.

Another person I think really pressured us to “keep at it” was Francis Ford. I had him in Pre-College for a photography course and really enjoyed his philosophies. I said that the thing he enjoyed the most was the face; that he emotion and the eye could all be held there. But one other thing that really stuck was how he told us that we should go out and present ourselves to everyone. We shouldn’t just go to a few places and get turned down but continuously go out there and put ourselves on the line. Not everyone is going to like your photos but someone will. You have to wait for that person.

The last person was Beth Bojarski. Her paintings were really amazing. It was a new experience to me to see the artist along with the artwork. I was able to see her in her art ant that was also a new experience. 

This slide tells you part of the story and This slide tells you more of it

Juxtapose the “lessons learned” during Chip Kidd’s talk and the wrap-up panel discussion,including all the participants.  What was offered to you, as art & design students, in the year 2012? 
I think something that really got me was when he put the image up of a drawing he had done for the batman page. He described is as “this really shitty drawing I did”. I was just astounded. Because i hate drawing and im not sure if he does to but he obviously isn’t super great at drawing but he stil has a very strong artistic sense. This gives me a little more hope in my art just because i know that i honestly don’t have to be great at drawing to be great at art. 

Notes:

What do the stories look like?
Tell or show?
-dont show apple with photo
-hepburn,words (text) Dietrich pictures (photo)
- Jurassic park 
-naked dress your family in corduroy and denim, dry/rehab. Possible side effects
My name is red, seek my face, Buddha,  
This slide tells you part of the story and This slide tells you more of it

Francis Ford

-how did you get your start as a photographer?

-whose your greatest inspiration when photographing?

-how do your ideas come about?

Beth Bojarski

-is it weird when you have put so much time into a piece and then its just gone?

-how do you create your pieces? (materials)

-do you create your art for specific customers?

Katie Donoghue

-when did you start interning?

-what was your favorite shoot to date?

-whats your favorite thing to shoot?