REFLECTION
This series of paintings has broken my expectations about the artistic process and served as the first practice of going headfirst into an ever-changing, always uncertain way of being. In my next paintings, I plan to reference visual material first, before drafting a plan with words and schemas. After the experimentation of this semester, I know which "moves" I can pull from and how to steal "moves" from other artists (in the positive sense of steal). I intend to focus more on language while maintaining my side interests that seem to fundamentally bleed into painting: I will expand my jazz vocabulary, read art theory and philosophy, and learn German. Also, maintaining a professional practice as an artist will be important, as I'll continue applying to shows, residencies, cleaning up my portfolio, etc. In summary, however, I'm proud of the paintings I've made, but see how they can be pushed and developed further in the next series.
ARTIST STATEMENT
The Languish Enguage is a series of paintings evolved from source photographs of garage interiors, which function as scaffolding for considering perception. The interconnected, arbitrary rules of spoken language act as a visual metaphor in each painting. This investigation was prompted by an experience speaking another language and then returning to the strangeness of one’s native tongue. Although the paintings reference tangible subject matter such as text or clothing, they are disassembled and withholding, leaving the viewer in a suspended state of uncertainty to contemplate the abstraction of the everyday.
Only the most essential information is presented; minimal perspectival lines capture the “spaceness” of a space, or a few red stripes capture the “American flagness” of an American flag. These crucial marks offer partial signifiers of ubiquitous visual information efficiently. The effects are large-scale gestalt puzzles that disturb an otherwise immediate read of the familiar.
A washy ground layer expressively details a guide of the space while a darker drawing hints at a clearer iconography. Thick, sculpted paint suggests isolated symbols while subtle color shifts, optical illusions, visual noise, and paint textures further complicate the space.
In effect, the relationship between semiotics and perception is exaggerated, and as if seeing your mother tongue as a second language, you see, unsee, and see again. More than depicting a specific space, these paintings capture the nature of meaning and our often distanced relation to it.
WEEK 10
Midterm assessment:
1. Statement on the evolution in your goals for your work: I started out determined to make a body of work focused on the garage space, and my interest in language and perception expanded from there. I suprisingly became much more interested in design elements and color, specifically flatness vs depth, line vs shape. I'm more interested in semiotics beyond the space and I feel more ability to improvise without the stricness of the photo.
3. In the remaining weeks of class, I have one large painting which I hope will be a more "maximal" peice (partially because I've run out of surfaces), and I'll explore semiotics within idendification, money, brands, and sports. At the same time, I want to consider maps and flatness vs depth. Also, I'd like to make 5 small fraes (15" x 22" roughly...) and play with optical illusions, mazes as modes of communication, and color. Mostly, I want to prepare for the exhibition in terms of cleaning up artist statments, correcting warped frames, hanging, etc.
WEEK 8
Artists NOW Homework
WEEK 7
Studio Visit reflections: Hollis Hammonds was some wht put off by my work, largely from the minimalism, flatness, and use of legible text. I think that I have to either fully embrace these qualities more, or reject them (lean away from them) to show that these choices are purposeful.
WEEK 6
Critique Reflection: The danger of this work is that it apears overly minimal, lazy, in effect losing the veiwer completely. If I'm able to hook the viewer more directly, with a tighter grasp on fun gestalt principles, and possibly with a more maximal painting, this might uphold the earlier ones. Maybe it's good to start minimal and expand from there.
WEEK 5
Curatorial Project: Constructvsm in the age of info
WEEK 4
I've also done some consideration with titles: Aer Vis Unus, Etcetera Etcrta Etc, Friction Between it and the Consumer, Fake Identification, Insult to Injury, Illusionations, Troxler's Yellow No. 5
WEEK 3
WEEK 2
Thesis Proposal
Abstract: My work for this semester will dissect photographs of a garage through maplike diagrams with paint. The “drawing”/underpainting will separate visually from the icons and symbols (such as numbers, text, logos) within the space. There will be a distinct contrast of saturation and paint viscosity. The work will be pastel, subtle, with select moments of intense color. I will finish at least 6 (finely sanded) canvases, all 33” x 38”.
Purpose: I’m interested how meaning is created through visual signals in our culture. There is an overabundance of information, and our psychology steers us to make sense of it quickly. Sometimes we make mistakes. Sometimes we connect gaps miraculously and “correctly”. How can I make the familiar unfamiliar, implying that there is more beyond our tight pov?
Methodology: I have already prepared all of the surfaces and have established a steady system for working. Each painting, I’m taking a lot of consideration for color choices, composition, etc, sketching out the space beforehand. I’ll have to make sure to keep the space clean and keep a steady pace, allowing for “mistakes” or “unsuccessful” work.