Vanessa Cross New York Trip two

my favorite museum was the METS museum because it was a huge museum and it had a lot of old ancient art work i liked the Egyptian artifacts that were found by archeologist and i think the MET museum was better than the Whitney cause some of the things in the Whitney i didn't like that much because it didn't really interest me. The historic paintings were awsome too. The Whitney I couldn't take pictures but one of the few things that i did like was the wax lady. She looked realistic it was amazing.

Vanessa New york city trip one

I liked these animals i thought it was so cool that they took different animal parts and created a few new animal species i thought it was so cool.

New York Trip 2 : Deanna Lardieri

I didn't think I'd be as enthusiastic about going to New York again after having just been there recently, but I was wrong. It is very evident that its never the same twice there because there is always sooo much going on!

1. What do you think was the most interesting aspect of this presentation?
I really enjoyed the pieces in the MET because they were so old and I kept wondering how many viewers these paintings have seen over the years and years of their life.

2. What was the most unexpected thing seen or discussed?
My answer for this relates to NY more than it does the artwork. On our way we saw a woman in a window of a building who was completely naked. She through a wallet at a man below her. She definitely had our attention! We never expected to see that, although I'm not really surprised since it is New York, which takes all kinds, obviously. :P

3. Can you imagine yourself in this profession?
I'd love to be shown in museums! But I'd also love to curate one. After visiting the MET, I imagine it must be wonderful to work alongside such wonderful historic works!

The first place I visited was the MET which was a wonderful museum and if it were up to me I could have stayed there all day. We had to rush through each gallery which I now regret in retrospect. I found some really beautiful paintings as soon as I walked in however. The first was Jean Marc Nattier's Madame Marsollier and Her Daughter, 1756. Marie and I had a long conversation in front of it about the painterly techniques and how amazing they were. I always have a hard time wrapping my brain around the antiquity of everything I see in museums and how well they still appear today. Unfortunately the camera does not do these works justice.

Another amazing work I saw was The Rape of Namar by Eustache Le Sueur. The content was powerful of course but it was the color in this painting that I thought was amazing. I looked right at it when I entered the gallery. Even though I've seen many of these typical renaissance paintings in all my art books and so on, I was so impressed with these in real life. It really changes the way they we view them. I also give as much credit to the frame makers as I do the artists because the frames were just as gorgeous as the work itself!
Another painting I couldn't walk away from was Sir Thomas Lawrence's The Calmady Children. This was one of the best child portraits I've ever seen. Usually children are a completely different league to depict than adults. But Lawrence flawlessly painted this little girl not only exceptionally well, but she looks beautiful and has a warm invitation in her eyes to her viewers. Even the other girl's profile is very well done. This painting really put me in my place as a (once thought to be pretty good) figure drawing artist! I'm not sure yet if that is a good or bad thing. Marie and I were also very impressed with the architecture of the MET and shot some great photos of the buttresses and staircases and so on.
After spending (not enough) time in the MET, Cailin, Liz, and I snuck over to the Guggenheim for a quick visit. As always, the building itself didn't fail to amaze me. Its structure is wonderful, and convenient for touring (you never miss an exhibit if you follow the spiral!) I was impressed with the Dada art there. One that Liz pointed out which was really unique was a pretty image of drapery which turned out to be made of dust, and breath from the air around it. I wish I had an image of it because it was truly the most mind boggling work of art. (Liz, if you took a pic of it, post it! :))

By the time we got to the Whitney I was very tired and had seen so much art that it was difficult to stay focused there. But I did manage to find some great pieces, or rather, great pieces found me.

The first was Edward Hopper's Early Sunday Morning. Hopper is my favorite artist and standing in front of his work was humbling and simply incredible, even though this particular one is not my favorite piece of his. I'm still amazed that I got to see one of his works in person and I wish I could have had my photo taken with it!

The next was Paper Bag by Alex Ray, 1968. I enjoyed it because it was very Dada; just a giant paper bag almost as tall as I am.

I also liked, from the biennial show, More Love Hours than Can Ever Be Repaid, and The Wages of Sin, 1987. This piece by Mike Kelly was a very large tapestry made of old dolls sewn together hanging on the wall. Next to it on a table, stood a sculpture of old candles somewhat melted together. This piece was a story teller and made me think of a montage of everything from a childhood bedroom meshed into one piece. It was a cacophony of junk that made a colorful, reminiscent work of art that had a very happy, yet disturbing tone to it.

The next piece I chose was called Untitled (The Year We Make Contact) and Untitled (Red Dwarf) by Piotr Uklanski. This one was a huge piece that took up the whole wall on the fourth floor of The Whitney, right outside the elevator. It was an extremely intricate in design and abstract structure that really stood out because of its size. What I liked about it was its simple colors and organic shapes, yet enormous size and complicated structure. I always love a contradiction. Plus its location, right in front of the elevator forced the visitors to look at it.

The last piece caught my attention in a different way. I first read the sign outside the exhibit that warned parents to mind its content before bringing children in the room and similar warnings for people who didn't like to see graphic photos. The exhibit was called Self Immolation in Afghanistan; A Cry for Help, 2005 by Stephanie Sinclair. This was a shocking series of photos of women overseas who voluntarily burned to themselves out of denial of their gender. Women in hospitals with burn wounds, devastated families hovering over coffins, bloody flesh wounds and so on filled the small room. It was difficult to look at but so captivating. I could feel the emotion in the gallery as viewers slowly and quietly looked
on.

Don Voisine's Critque on Miranda

My Critique by Don Voisine was pretty awesome. He was very interested in my interperations and my processes. He totally understood where I was coming from when I told him that I have a hard time listening to the art professors, following direction, conforming to fit the style of all the other art student. He said that, that was a sign of a real artist. He also went on to say that art school was not for everyone and that he was never formally trained. Mr.Voisine also said that i should find a patron(s) for my art so I can continue on my creative endeavors without restraint of directions and venue. I think that he is right that art school isn't for everyone.. I really don't think its for me but, i know that I need the foundation stuff that we learn and that I need a degree to be able to support my artwork until I find patron(s).

I'm glad he came to give critiques because he did not just nod, say ummmm hummmm, and say ooo well it's Miranda what do you expect. I was able to see a persons reaction who didn't see my previous work and who also does not know me.

Miranda’s Critique on Marie’s Navajo project

Marie’s painting was a wonderful collaboration of her unique new adaptation of Anime/Manga and the Native American culture. The woman Character she depicts is half wolf and half human. I was told by Marie that the wolf is means mischief to the Native American culture. The circle around the character is almost like a dream catcher and the splatters of paint gives the impression that is has obliterated the bad dreams that it captured.
As per usual the work that Marie creates is well crafted and finally detailed. The paws on the half human-half wolf woman could use a little shading. A great way to get good value is to dry paint over the existing paint. Which will not only give the different values that is needed to give it depth but can also give you a nice texture. The signature button that Marie places on her canvas is a wonderful addition to the artworks. Instead of signing your name and placing the button on your canvas; which can visually weigh down the bottom right hand side of you canvas just place the button instead of a signature or sign the button and put in on.
I fully appreciate you Anime/Manga-Fine art creations. I think you totally have made built a bridge between the typical Anime/Manga, your style, and Fine Art. Personally I do like your unique fine art anime is fantastic. For your future painting you should try to do a full body figure, multiple characters or men characters. Maybe create a cast of characters.

Don Voisine Crit: Deanna Lardieri

My experience with Don Voisine went much differently than I expected. He was very approachable and I felt comfortable talking about my work with him. I loved that he was a very introverted and quiet artist---I can relate. He put me on the spot instantly by asking me where my inspiration came from. Which was hard to say because all of the pieces I brought were different stlyes and of different inspiration. Most of the work I showed him was in my old style which since has been tweaked and modified. He seemed more interested however in my old style (from a few semesters ago) which was a more realist meets expressionist style. At the end he asked me if I had any questions for him. I asked him how he stayed motivated in a world where fine arts is such a difficult field to get into. His answer was helpful yet a little disappointing to be honest. He told me to always believe in my abilities, and to stay motivated--which was good advice. But then he said he's been creating art his whole life and was finally recognized recently. I think his intention was to prove to me that anyone who sticks to their love of art will make it...but I was disappointed to hear that if I make it as an artist, there's a chance that it will be much later than sooner. His answer did however open my eyes a lot about the art world. He made me believe that perhaps an artist is not going to be my first choice for a career but there are plenty art related jobs out there that will come faster and still allow me to stick with my love of art.

Amber Remaley- Don Voisine Critique

For the Don Voisine critique, I brought in my portfolio of reproductions of some of my best artwork; in addition to that I brought in my self portrait and personal belief projects. At first I was not sure if he would enjoy my style of work, since I saw his pieces in the hallway. Don Voisine gave me some strong feedback on my strengths and gave me some advice. Going through my portfolio he saw that I am into pop art, and like to work with monochromatic tones. He liked my personal belief project more than my self portrait, simply because it was personal and I put more thought into it. Another thing he liked was that my pieces were on a paint palette instead of a canvas. Don Voisine suggested that if I continue using the palette to try using different varieties of shapes and sizes.

Over all he told me that he notices that I have a style and I’m good with painting with black and white colors. His advice was to keep on painting and drawing because practicing can only make an artist better, and also that Pratt is a great school to transfer to. Having met Don Voisine and letting him look over my artwork, gave me a sense of confidences…well more confidences. Another thing was it gave me a chance to see how it will be when I send out my portfolio to transfer. As he skimmed over some of my WOW pieces I thought were great and stopping at ones I thought were alright, changed my outlook on how a college will look over and think what is good. Big eye opener for moi.

Marie Strock NYC Art Trip

Claire Seidl- Claire's studio was a visual treat to go and see, especially with the hidden storage/movable wall. The interesting changes and adaptations that made the apartment into a studio by taking out the bathroom and putting a station in for developing photographs. I have to say that i'm more partial to her photographs and her idea about the passing of time, which gives me ideas of ways to do such with paint. The down to earth, natural state of her studio really gave me a feeling of how she works around the space. The most unexpected thing of course was all of the canvas she had hidden away and only to repaint them again.

OK Harris- This was a great gallery for showcasing a more abstract work. The pieces here by Mike Baur and the way they are placed make the room actually look bigger and more spacious. The artist's really seemed to have their own designated space for their own work alone, whether it was a room or a wall, and a very architectural feel with the pieces almost.

Broken Kilometer- Unfortunatly no pictures were allowed, but the small space in which the work was allowed to be seen did not hinder the vastness of the work. It had a smell from being polished that was very pungent smell, but it was well worth viewing.

Earth Room- Also no photography, but another huge work with just, dirt. It was wonderful to be able to just see this work so unexpectedly, and also not on the ground floor.

El Anatsui- The amount of detail that went into his work, is absolutely incredible. From far away, these pieces, because of the intended "wrinkles" look so soft and like a knitted blanket. As you get close up to the piece, all of the tiny details come out, metal caps and junk that was collected and turned wonderful works of art, it was so unexpected to see some of these works because they were so massive.

Jonatan Levine Gallery- Some of the pieces from the gallery had made me feel right at home with all of the pop art and the chandeliers were gorgeous. One of my favorites from this gallery were the "Rubix Cube Mario Mushrooms". Some of the details that went into the works were both computer painted and/or otherwise and completely in your face non-traditional. I loved it.

The Independent- The Independent was a really interesting gallery with a plethora of different artists showcasing various works which ranged all over, from the funny to the completely serious and informative. The amount of works and floors were intriguing. The most unexpecting things were the rotating mirrors and the De Lorean, the ultimate movie car from Back To The Future.

Pulse-This was by far the biggest gallery I have ever seen and the artists were just astounding. There was so many different forms of art going around that it blew my mind, it was awesome. From thread, to rearrange cars to become carriages and Taxidermy, the list goes on. Before we left I had finally come across a pop artist with my style of art, and it was uniquely addressed with the title. Overall, this was my favorite gallery with so many variations of artists and work, it was very hard to choose just five.

1."Archival Pigment Print" Shane Hope

2."Stimulating Slumber" Shirley Kaneda

3. "Clairaudient" Martin Schnur

4. "Le Damier" Driss Quadahi

5. "The animals hid underneath the fur of the beasts" Matsuura Hiroyuki

Marie Strock Navajo Critque on Deanna Lardieri

Deanna's piece was a bit larger than 24x36 and was constructed of acrylic paint on cloth along with miscellaneous items like a dream catcher that she had made, yarn, a navao proverb all into the form of a traditional blanket. Hanging by a decorative string she had also made herself.

The patterns on her piece were represented into a quadrant and they followed the culture extremely well and displayed the cultural diversity of the Navajo. All of the symbols had incorporated something that everyone could relate to, like food and beliefs, etc. Overall, the project fit the assignment perfectly and was probably the most informative piece, in my opinion.

Don Voisine Critique

I was pleasantly suprised at the way Don had presented himself in the time we spent talking together. I expected a critique like one from a professor or maybe hints for improvement, but this was more of a discussion and it made the environment feel a lot calmer. I began talking with him about the paintings and about how they related to my family issues and he talked with me about how he face similar times, and how maybe my everyday experiences with my job influence my art.

Overall, the visit from Don was an informative outlook on life in the art world, he had described that a career in art is a constant marathon. Maybe so, but I don't really feel like it's a race, i'm not one into rushing things, but I digress. I am glad that he had nothing negative to say about my work and that nothing had offended him in the way that I had represented the works. He had also asked if I related myself with Japan, and I replied that I did not. The style may be derived from the culture, but I was not interested in giving my "characters" any reference to the country, they simply relate to me. I am very happy that I got to have this interview with such an experienced artist and to be able to relate on some interesting points.

Visual Culture Paper

Music and Art relate to each other a lot when you think about what you need for either one. Inspiration, time, creativity, composition are just a few elements you need for both. Music is art in the sense that it can inspire others, it can reflect the artist's or the viewers thoughts and opinion, it provokes emotion, similar creative process, and either can use words, or a lack of words, for a strong message.

Jordan Buckley is an artist and musician from West Seneca, New York. The band he's in is named Every Time I Die, and he plays guitar but also does all of their album art, he makes clothing designs, draws on shoes, makes prints for tour, draws banners and other materials for other bands, and drawings for personal use ad sale as well.

one pair of the many vans he has drawn on...

a t shirt design for ferret music.

Every Time I Die's newest tour print.

guitar he drew on to give away...

Those are just a few examples of his latest work. I love the incorporation of music and his personal style. I'd like to incorporate music as a theme in my work because it is often my inspiration. Music evokes emotion just like art does, I just get inspired by music easier. Relating to music is easier, in my opinion, because you can read and interpret the artist's thoughts easier then to look at a drawing and know what the artist was thinking or feeling.

For Every Time I Die's latest record, Jordan drew a piece for each song after reading the lyrics his brother, singer Keith Buckley, wrote. Some of the drawings are easy to figure out where the inspiration came from, such as...

"can't run anymore tour"

...this horse is a drawing in the book that comes in their new CD. A lot of the images he drew for the latest album are in a video they made that I'm going to post. These drawings are animated in the video but are actual drawings he did before they put them on the computer for this video.

"Wanderlust"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aKIpMl3Xh8

Amber Remaley-Navajo Critique on Miranda Taylor

The painting was an image of three women with drapery with Navajo symbols on the women's bodies. Some of the symbols were trees, dragonflies, and corn; which tied in with nature. This piece is related to the self-portrait and the personal belief by dealing with the female body and working with figures. The markings on the women's backs tied into Miranda, since she likes tattoos and has tree tattoo, which reminded me of the one on the one figure. In the beginning Miranda's Navajo piece was to small to hang, she talked about adding other canvas to make it a larger piece, but she wasn’t sure. On the day of hanging our artwork she painted drapery on two other canvas with Cherokee symbols, which she then hung in a dangle. Adding those two canvas completed her project and in the process made it larger.

Visual Culture Paper- Liz Ronneberg

CHAKRAS

I have recently decided to start researching Chakras. Even before our Personal Belief project was introduced, I had started looking into the meaning people hold behind them and the symbolism held with them, so when the project came along it was convenient for me to be able to put something that I was personally interested in, into a project. I have always found the spiritualism that is in this belief to be extremely intriguing. I think an interesting aspects of Chakras are that they are not actually physical things. Some people may think that they are anchored in the human body as the heart or lungs, but contrary to what some people assume, you cannot cut open a person and find their Chakras. It is a completely in-visual occurrence, and because of that I can see why some people would be skeptical as to wether they actually are, or aren’t. Chakras, to put it simply, are areas of the body where it is believed that energy is harnessed for different resources. There are seven major Chakras located in the human body, and although some Guru’s believe that there are other Chakras that spawn and draw energy in other locations, the seven that I will be talking about in this paper are the main, most accepted of them. The only way that you could ever actually see a Chakra is through visual art. You could explain to someone where they are said to be located in the body, but the only way to every actually show someone would be through art. That is one of the things that intrigues me most about them, so with me being an artist, I obviously found endless amounts of inspiration while researching this.

As I mentioned before, there are seven major Chakras located in the human body. They all feed off of main energy channels, which are called Nadis (and these channels are actually real in the human body). The Nadis are the nerve currents located in the spinal column. They are called Ida and Pingala and they wrap around the third current, Sushumna. These Nadis reach from the base Chakra, located at the base of the spine, all the way to the crown Chakra, located at the crown of the head. The points where the three Nadis connect are where the seven Chakras are located. The lowest Chakra is called Muladhara, is said to relate to the gonads and adrenal medulla, and houses energy concerning sexuality, stability, sensuality, and a sense of security. The next Chakra, Swadhisthana, corresponds with the testes and ovaries and relates to reproduction, creativity, joy, and enthusiasm. Manipura is related to the metabolic and digestive systems and convey digestion, personal power, expansiveness, and all matters of growth. Moving up the body, Anahata (more commonly known as the heart Chakra) corresponds to the thymus in the chest, which is an element of the immune system. The Anahata deals with circulation, unconditional love for the self as well as others, passion, and devotion. Next is the Vishuddha which is situated in the throat and is majorly connected with communication. It also houses energy for independence, fluent thought, and a sense of security. The brow Chakra, or Anja, is said to be related to the pineal gland (although there is some controversy about wether the pineal gland is better related to the crown Chakra), which is a light sensitive gland that produces melatonin, which regulates sleep and waking up. Anja is said to be involved with clarity on an intuitive level, visual consciousness, and access of intuition. The final, and most powerful Chakra, is Sahasrara, or the crown Chakra. Sahasrara is associated with pure consciousness, it involves actions with “beingness”, universal consciousness and unity, the release of karma, and physically it deals with meditation. It is said that when someone can raise their energy of consciousness to the level of the Sahasrara, the union with God is experienced, and they have reached enlightenment.

As I said earlier, one of the most captivating aspects of this philosophy, for me, is that you can only illustrate Chakras. Some amazing illustrations have come out of the Chakra belief. True to it’s Hindu roots, most drawings are ornately elaborate, and hold extremely meaningful symbolism. Some drawings I have seen include the Hindu deities and other spiritually powerful object. Some simply show the human body, illustrating where the Chakras are located. I’m mostly inspired by this aspect because I want to start making art that portrays what people can’t physically see. Taking things like Chakras, which you would not be able to physically view, unless artists took the time to draw them out. I think that in itself holds a lot of meaning. Being able to illustrate what some people can only imagine would be an artistic hurdle I would like to attempt.

Works Cited

Sivananda, Swami. "Ida, Pingala, Suchumna and the Shat-Chakras." 28 June 2005. Ida Divine. IndiaDivine Communications. 21 Feb. 2010.

Slotte, Anita. "Chakras: Tools for Transformation." 2006. Root Chakra. Cougar Webworks. 21 Feb. 2010.

"Tantra Kundalini." 2008. Tantra Kundalini. 21 Feb. 2010.

Chris Demchak - Don Voisine Critique Response

I didn't really know how this critique was going to play out, so I wanted to come prepared. I originally thought that I wasn't going to have enough to show him, but I soon found out that my portfolio was much bigger than I thought. I packed up my paintings and drawings from semesters past and gave him a good, diverse amount of pieces for him to work with.

He was quick to point out that he was not an educator, nor was he too savvy about talking about art. I quickly realized my mistakes of giving him too much to work with and not having a cohesive theme to my little presentation. He did like my relief self-portrait with the Styrofoam and said I should continue with that idea.

Really the best advise I received was from the guy he was with who told me it's best to show a few of your best works that are similar in medium/idea so you can have something specific to talk about instead of going in all these different directions. While I already sort of knew this, it was hard for me to find such works because my portfolio is so very diverse at this point.

The best thing was that I felt completely comfortable talking to the two of them, and I felt I could've just sat down and talked to them about art all day.

Response to Don Voisine Critique by Howard Crockett

I would like to start by saying that I am extremely greatful that we had the chanse to have an artist like Don Voisine come to see our work and give us his thoughts.

During the critique I showed Don what I felt to be my strongest drawings and paintings. I was happy to hear that he did not have anything negative to say about my work. Although we did get to talking and I mentioned how I must work full time in addition to going to school to help out my family. He told me that it was great that I was willing to help my family but that I need to also think about myself and my future and essentially that I should devote more time to art. Which is very true, at this point in time i usually do not have much time to just sit and paint. Lately, I have been trying to make huge strides in this, by working different hours at work it gives me more hours in the day. Enough rambling, the critique, in my opinion was very successful which made me excited about my future as a painter.

Navajo Crit of Vanessa Cross by Howard Crockett

Vanessa's contribution to the hybrid identity collaboration for our Navajo guests was an anime inspired painting. Vanessa worked, to the best of my knowldege, in acrylic. Her painting depicted what seemed to be a Navajo girl on top of a navajo stylized rug.

My comments for Vanessa were to create a shadow behind the girl to create space between her and the rug and to extend her body and limbs off the canvas to create the feel of the girl standing in front of the rug rather than inside it. For the final presentation to the Navajo students, she did add the shadow and ran off the edges, but the shadow remained one tone, therefore did not really enhance the piece, in my opinion atleast.

Also, due to the size requirement, Vanessa needed to increase the size of her piece, which she did by placing the canvas in the center of a larger piece of wood, paitned black. I do not feel that the adjustment made was successful. It would have been interesting if she would have continued the Navajo girl and rug onto the larger piece and make the whole thing a layered project.

Chris Demchak - NYC Art Trip

1. What do you feel was the most interesting or significant aspect of this discussion/presentation?

Claire Siedl
It was great to see what a studio apartment in NY looked like. I like that it was a little more disorganized than Emil's and I think her artwork is fantastic. I enjoyed Claire's long-exposure photography but I think her paintings are amazing. This one in particular takes my breath away. It reminds me of some kind of gem stone.







O.K. Harris Gallery
Mike Baur's sculptures were fantastic. Scrap metal and other found objects crafted into dynamically visual pieces.

In a different room there were these wonderful photographs by Steve Gross and Susan Daly. Most were of landscapes and rustic-looking houses.

There was a ton of stored artworks and some displayed didn't have any details such as the one with the wolves and the hog.





Broken Kilometer and Earth Room
It amazed me to think there are such things as permanent galleries in NYC. These two giant sculptural room installations give off a sense of hallowed ground. I wanted to explore both deeply yet (even if I was allowed) I don't know if I would. Both could come off as something from Ripley's Believe It or Not but to an artist, there's something more substantial than a bunch of copper tubes and a room full of dirt.

El Anatsui
I dare say I actually liked these pieces. The intricacy is mind-boggling and the shapes and especially the folds are absolutely stunning.














Jonathan LeVine Gallery
This Pop Art filled gallery seemed like something for our generation. I particularly enjoyed the anatomical pieces/references that I've had a penchant for this semester.


Chelsea Gallery - The Independent
There was so much inspiring art to take in it was crazy. A fantastic fusion of 2D and 3D, I think it's a great showing of contemporary art and what's being made today. Amazing works.


PULSE
So many interesting works from so many talented artists.

Christoph Ruckhaberle


Sam Messenger - A Thousand Words

The idea behind this tickles me in all the right ways.

Megan Whitmarsh - Color Work Station


Adriana Duque - Daniel/Felipe. Serie infantes.

Stunning portraits.

Ivan Capote - Autumn (all fall)
This made me laugh.

2. What was the most unexpected thing seen or discussed?

I think seeing how enormous, vast, and diverse the art world is. What we saw was just a small portion of the galleries in the City. Just thinking about how many artists and how much art is being shown (and NOT being shown) is staggering.

3. Can you imagine yourself in this profession? If so, what do you like the most about it? If not, why?

Absolutely. I like the pushing oneself aspect, the challenge, the constant learning and being surrounded by art.

4. Additional observations and comments:

Even though it's the same address, this door DOES NOT lead to the Broken Kilometer.

It may however lead to a Saw-like death.

Oh, and falafels are probably the single most greatest food on the planet.