Artist Statement

Sculpture Artist Statement
For my last project I want to follow my subject of sculpture. I would like to take it into its own element. Where did this stem from? My passion for sculpture started a long time ago, after seeing the limestone carved faces of the Romans and Greeks at the Museum of Fine Arts. I remember being very little and looking at pictures in books and hoping my play dough would magically transform itself. I've been compelled ever since, to attempt it. Though in this class and within my life time I haven't attempted lime stone or anything of the kind, sculpture fascinates me.
The Greeks had such an elegance and flow throughout there work. It resonates with a continuing line within a gesture. The predominant poses showing sophistication and royalty.
In the drawing aspect of art, I have been taught to make one line or three lines to create a figure that has weight to it or movement, which hard to explain in words. A line when crossed can have a weight whether it be pressure coming down or leaning. I've tried to keep that skill and bring it forth into my sculpture.
I have done about 7 sculptures each has been an experience in making. The last ones where done with sculpey and where amazingly fun! I felt for a while I had lost my imagination which I still am slowly recovering the pieces. I am not positive when it left or why it did... I believe that my major and college have a minor influence on my lack of imagination. I felt the freedom to express my every emotion in the clay, looking at by sculpture I see I've created that emotion to be its own being outside of myself. It's almost like I pulled out the "emotional person" moping in my head and it froze over into a statuette.
Taking in the magnitude of "Venus di Milo", "Pieta", and "David" are just have of my favorites. Something about recreating a human form is amazing, every detailed muscle and flawless face. My skill isn't half of the Greeks or the Romans, but it would be interesting to try and take it into the final. I am finally becoming more filmier with the material and looking foward to showing last piece that will show were this semester has taken me.

Topic Research

For my last project I am to work with the continuation of sculpture... I am in the process of researching more information on soapstone. I am wanting to play with it and just experiment with something the masters have used. I am also going to continue using the white clay I have become familiar with.

It's exciting to think of my little statuette collection I have coming along... I have yet to have all the pieces aligned. I need to fix up the last sculpture I created... the hand was really throwing me off during its presentation. I have yet to plan another way of the burn... the funds are just not there. And the weather isn't generous for grilling.

I just want to get started creating!

Dennis Hopper

Last Week, I went to the MFA to a artist lecture with Dennis Hopper as the guest speaker. I showed up extra early and was fortunate enough to greet him. Dennis Hopper is a well known actor, who has starred in many great films. Blue Velvet, Easy Rider, and famous Rebel without a Cause. While in his acting career he would shoot photo's of many of his costars working on set. One day while photographing James Dean, he was confronted by James for taking his photo. James said to Dennis not to crop the photo that if he cropped his photo's he'd regret it. At the show Dennis said he thanks James for that advice!

He was very close to the Pop Art king himself Andy Warhol. They were friends and Dennis is in one of Warhol's paintings. Dennis's work is most a mix between pop art and impressionistic. His images look very photo like... when the are oil on canvas. He was very intriguing in his evolution into the art world. I was very inspired to go home and find my missing imagination.

Non Western Art

I decided that I would like to learn more about Chinese Brush paintings. Over the years, I've gone to many flee markets and am very intrigued by the style. India ink is kinda like watercolor in needing much control over it and knowing the paper. I see a lot of calligraphy so my vision is to create a poem and then have a scenery landscape of sorts. I've been working on whether to write about my painting scenery or whether to write about how i feel... I already have been journaling a lot of poems. I've lost my imagination... and I know that when I write poems and stories I can tap open the lock downed memory. I miss being random and seeing thing differently I love the acedmic drawing classes i have chosen for myself but it seems to be leaving me no room to imagine. So my personal homework assignment is to open that.
Back to the project.
Chinese Brush Paintings started around 4000 b.c. it started from the Buddhist culture... there are many styles -figure painting popular during the Song dynasty -landscape 4th century -flower and bird painting 9 th century. The ink wash is a very popular technique. They used rice paper a lot of the time. Rice paper usual
ly comes in scrolls. I am going to experiment with different types of paper.

MFA has new stuff

I was recently at the MFA and I was lost... I can walk in from the front or side and have a routine of seeing different categories. I was ridiculously confused when I found doors being shut off and new ones being opened. I was very excited to see new sculptures in the Greek and Roman wing. Seeing that I am trying to get more in-tune with the sculpture and looking up to other artists is life changing... there were sculptures and reliefs I remembered learning last semester. I was very satisfied that I could run my hand over the marble. Its the most amazing feeling seeing a piece of art you've always dreamt of seeing in person. I think its like meeting a famous singer like Paul McCartney or something.

I loved seeing Homer paintings and it was beautiful how he works with thick oils and that is something that I've been trying to stretch my skills by the paint thickness and style. I think I could live at the MFA...

Exhibit!

I went to the new exhibit on the first floor of South. Amazing, I loved it! It was great to see work that you would see at the ICA. There is a lighting up ant farm with a bicycle, everything is very interactive. I enjoy being able to touch and play with different objects. There are different types of hand and arm rests that are to be place on the neck. I loved the paper curtain! Amazing, I can't believe at how beautiful it looked with the green light shinning on it.... I can't believe a student made it. My favorite room had to be a little room to the right of the first room. You open the door to a small padded room. It looked like something from a space ship. Through the hall their are mirrors lining the ceiling and floor. At the end of the hall way there is a white round stool. If you sit on the stool, an led light from above turns brighter and brighter. The room and seat start vibrating from the noise of like your going to be beamed to a different planet! Then BOOOOM lights off. Its scary and claustrophobic, but it was awesome. Art is supposed to evoke emotion, this exhibit definitely did.

Sculpture #1

My first attempt at sculpting! I really enjoyed working with the material, I got aggravated about the fact that the clay would pick up every finger print or nail mark. I like my sculpture smooth and not heavily marked; Although the heavily marked sculpture has more "character". I believe the smooth soft look is more appealing especially for a female. Female figures I draw is usually draw in a dreamy/hazed state. It has a softness unlike a male figure that has heavy indentations, that is at least within my art work.
I m not completely satisfied with the way it came out. I didn't get to into hair or facial expression. But I believe i really captured the weight of the figure. She really feels like she is leaning all of her weight onto the right arm. It feels like if you pushed her elbow in she would collapse. Its been a trial run, I'm pretty happy with the outcome.

Work in Progress

I have a photo here of a oil painting I did during a life drawing class... I enjoy the colors I created with a limited palette yellow, red, black, and white. I found it to be extremely hard to keep the paint thick. I've become so used to the transparency of watercolor that I've taken that technique into my oil paintings. Which is nice for a unique style but disappointing when your supposed to be layering it on. As in the world, and in art... love and hate run hand and hand. I love how oil moves and stays wet for days. And hate how oil moves and hate when it stays wet for days.

I was really inspired after this class to push my figure to the next level. The limited palette makes you lay down the foundation colors of light and dark. The more I practice this the more likely I will be able to make a better sculpture. Every-time I touch the canvas or newsprint all I can imagine is what it would be like to actually create what I see.

Water

I feel freedom within this India ink painting. Something about the flow gave me the most calming sensation. I would like to work with India ink again. I hate how it stains your fingers! I've been trying to work on my project for this class but I have no money. All I can do is research and sketching. For my project, I decided to do a sculpture of the human figure. The figure I want to express would be female. I want to show the details of light and dark and the contortions. Water forms around the body beautifully like a silk scarf I wish i could do the same.

Painting

I added a class Painting from Observation... I love it. Its my favorite class. Its very difficult because I'm not used to using oil in a gesturing manor. I like being intimidated... and challenged this class does it for me. I also have a very difficult time with using thicker paint blobs. I've always been told to use more oil. I guess sub consciously I worry about running out of paint. I need to buy supplies... I have no money to right now. Its hard being able to afford paints and sable brushes etc.. I did this gestural painting of a female model. I layered it over two other gestures, I had done earlier in the class. The ghost like figure is more haunting in person. I like to try and fill up the picture or play with it more. The fear, the fear of ruining a painting can make an artist choke. I'm having an artistic block. I'm seeing the world through stills not movement... I'm not sure how to break out of the frame I've built.

MFA

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One thing I absolutely love about living in Boston is escaping to the museum. I went to the MFA a few days ago with an old friend. He's interested in art and I was the tour guide for the day. I went to every section of the MFA. It was inspiring, educational, and fun. The Ancient Egypt mummy's will always give me chills. One of my many favorite sections is Ancient Greece and Rome, I find them intriguing because they are still around the details that can be done with marble is fascinating. They didn't have electric utensils to carve with! Their is this one pair of earrings in the ancient greek section with a man on a charioteer and horses made out of gold that can't be much taller or wider then a quarter!
The Egyptian part I commented on how talented the slaves were, they should have a plaque commemorating them for there achievements. Plus, I can't read hieroglyphics but the stories within the wall murals are almost like a cartoon story board. The wall murals are easy to figure out. The rooms I enjoy most would be a room with Bensons painting in it there is a very comfy chair and its a very dark room and the painting of Bensons three children on the boat is so relaxing to the Cape Coder I am.
In one room there is a Turner painting of the slaves being thrown over board. I taught him the interesting knowledge behind Turner and his paintings. When entering the Impressionist room with Van gough's paintings and Monet, I remembered a quote from a letter of Matisse, he says that as artists we have to look at the world through the eyes of children, like we've never seen a rose before. We have the capability of seeing the flower patch that has a white butterfly on it every day, that no one else would notice. _ That is what I love about art. That is how I breath in the art of nature everyday.

First Blog

Todays class really opened my eyes not only to other peoples work, but also to look at my own. It is hard to look at your own work and see what is lacking. Its really inspiring to see everyone's different style and the thought process that went into it. One of the students using mathmatics in such an artistic way, it just blew my mind. Then to post your work on random city signs, is also inspriing in a few different ways. It being my second year at MassArt I have met the artists that hide there work and then the artist who is deeply attached to every piece; meeting someone who is willing to post there work for all to see, and don't care what happens with it is really different. Artists for years have been putting information on the back of their artwork in order to find out who's hands it ends up in. I really have a lot to consider, for my upcoming project. I guess i'll wait for an inspiring accident.