Understanding professional practice with Karin: 6

Knowing the business part 2: Today's class began with a presentation from Donna and Georgette? from Viscopy. I was charging the furnace today so I had a short reprieve while I sprinted back to the glass studio to lob batch into the furnace.
The second half of the lesson waaaaaas about selling: Consignment/Retail/Wholesale and deciding who was going to present when.

Understanding professional practice with Karin: 5

Knowing the business:
Homework: Research project opportunities relevant to your practice- residencies, mentorships, exhibitions etc plus funding that could support this....

Northlands
Canberra Glass Works ,
Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass
Corning Museum of Glass CMOG
Resartists

Ok there are hundreds, but I kind of fancy Emma Ricklunds stiftelse in "Saxnäs, southern Lapland. 

"It is the crossroads where two cultures meet: the indigenous Lapps and the settlers. This is the place where mythology and folklore mix; it is where many artists, such as Asger Jorn, have sought and found their inspiration and energy."

Understanding professional practice with Karin: 3

Representing your self: Through

The Artist's C.V.


The Artist Statement. Collect one good and one bad example and write your own (200-300 words) for next weeks class.

I found this post on "Artists statements and why they mostly suck" by Bmoreart, some helpful suggestions there. Sarah Schmerler "critic, educator, curator and consulant" workshops writing for artists. From her website I found Moma's PS1: Studio visit project, an online space for NewYorks' emerging artists (with lots of Artists Statements) and there is of course the wonderful "Arty bollocks generator".

Understanding professional practice with Karin: 2

I missed last weeks class because of Seesaw and I was a little late to this one thanks to a an overdue 445 so I walked into what seemed like the tale of Karin's life, which I thoroughly enjoyed. To begin with I was a bit stumped as to the relevance, though soon enough a thread started to appear as to how the course and her story were related. Karin's story was one path of becoming a professional maker. At the end of hers we left the class room to head up to "Paper plane" an ARI up the road. the current exhibition was a Japanese/Australian mix of jewelery work. Some really beautiful pieces. A student of Karin's told a very different story of how her professional practice came into being.
Rui's work (pictured below)is made of manipulated and dyed PET bottles.

Girl Genius: A gaslamp fantasy of Adventure, Romance & Mad Science!

Its research...really, honest. I have been considering Steampunk as a genre to research for our Object theory class. I stumbled across the Girl genius web comic..a page published on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Luckily for me the comic has been going since 2002..so no waiting for a while..though sadly now I have caught up to the present day and have to wait like anyone else.

It is well written, a good story and beautifully drawn and coloured, I may have to purchase a volume...more research you understand!

Locating practice - 5: Art and Sciences

Readings:
I came to Japan because of the chopstick / Peter Timms & Frances Dyson's review of 'I was scared to death / I could have died of joy' in the Bienneale  of Sydney, On Reason and Emotion.

Artists mentioned:
Andy Goldsworthy, Agnes Denes, Ken Yonetani, Janet Laurence, Fiona Hall, Maya Lin, Dadang Christanto, Lauren Berkowitz.

Locating practice - 4: Genres and sub genres

Readings: Australian Gothic / G. Turcotte & The practice of everyday life / Michel de Certeau (a paper not the book)

Think that Gothic is just a penchant for too much black, lace and laces? Not so...The word Gothic has a long history which traveled a long way before it became what we recognise it as today. Gothic describes the uncanny, the uncomfortable and all that is 'unhomely'.

'Neo Goth: back in black' 2008.
goth/ emo/ surf/ indie/ punk: something decidedly dark is permeating all aspects of contemporary culture. From its subcultural origins in eighteenth century literature, through to the movement's dedicated tribes of black-clad youths in the 1980s, Goth culture is no longer underground or fringe, but mainstream. Is this 'new' interpretation of the Gothic aesthetic just that – an aesthetic – or is the neo-Goth impulse a considered response to a darker, more pessimistic world?
The major exhibition neo goth dips beneath the surface and takes a peek at the noir underbelly of Australian culture as it is manifested across art, fashion, film and literature. exhibition blurb

Artists: Damien Hirst 'Adam & Eve together at last' & 'Endgame', Ben Quilty, Katie Rhoad, Monika, Timothy Horn, Tichacek, Ricky Swallow, Tim Silver, Shain Gladwell, Pier Madden, Patricia Piccini, Albert Tucker......it seems at some time or another all artists paint a skull....

Studio theory - 10

and the Mutant material roll up for this week was...

Barbara: Thermosetting polymers, polyethelene
Debbie: Translucent and transparent ceramics
Kaz: Environmentally friendly kilns and recycling of ceramics
Chow: Coal ash
Spike: Vitraglyphy
Susan: Thermochromatic pigments
Rebecca Jane: Bioart

Studio theory - 9

and the Mutant material roll up for this week was...
Kate: Memory metals 'Nitonol' Artist Sergey Jivetin
Ana: fibre optics, LED's. Thomas Hetherwick's seed Cathedral and Skin probes fashion
Mel: Gel Flex
Nadine: Digital printing on glass (Diptech)
Tim: Carbon Fiber

Object theory - 8

Mutant material presentations...Ferrofluid, Precious Metal Clay, Cemets, Keroflex and a Ceramic polymer combination.

Object Theory - 5

this weeks class was somewhat livelier than it has been, we still had to read out loud..but some group discussion kind og cancelled that out.

Object theory - 4

Mutant Material possibles

Spray on glass
Flexible glass  hmmm think Corning, CSIRO

Studio theory: The Virtual and the Handmade - 1

Oliver Smith is our new lecturer for what I call object theory, now on Fridays. After Oliver overcame some technical difficulties he handed out a reading "THE THING" by Martin Heidigger (1971) not to be confused with

"THE THING: from another world (1951)". The former is to be read and commented on (50 words) for next week with 3 interesting word definitions. hmmmmm I have now read this reading and I do not think much of it. so my just over 50 words is
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------

At the start of the article I had the feeling that it would be a dense but thought provoking exploration into and about the object and distance. The following 5 pages changed my perception of the writer and my expectations of the content. What seems to be desperate, romantic and religious preaching replaces the expected logical and well rounded argument on the ‘thing’. I don’t believe that his theory would be water tight if applied to another thing (like a knife) rather than the vessel. I think he truly loses it when the fourfold start to be mentioned.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

This semesters theme is 'The Virtual and the Handmade'. Oliver's slideshow started with a tapestry of Lia Cook's
from the exhibition "Transformations and the language of craft".
Traces:Intent (2002) to show an example of work that starts from the everyday (family snaps) gets morphed by new technology (computers) and back to the handmade as a tapestry.

The next slide was a woodcut image of a medieval "silversmithing' workshop reminding us of the roots and tradition of craft and how things were made..everyone in the workshop knew how to make an object from start to finish..including the tools. Next a book was used to punctuate our lecturer's words..it took quite a time to grab the title "On divers arts: the foremost medieval treatise on painting, glassmaking, and metal work" by Theophilus (a Jeweller monk). Getting ever closer to the present day we briefly looked at Bernard leach, Josiah Wedgewood, Tappio Wirkkala, Henry Ford, Dale Chihuly and Gilbert Riedelbach.
The rest of the lesson was an introduction to various CAD rapid prototyping techniques.
Such as CNC, block milling, FDM, SLA, SLS, Objet printing and vacuum casting.

Object theory Catalogue project

Last assignment..and really I was doing this right up to the last minute...

Object theory - 5

Body, Materiality and Process: 

Reading: Howard Risatti 'Hand and body in relation to craft' in Risatti, H. A theory of craft: function and aesthetic expression, University of North Carolina Press, USA, 2007, pp108-115.

Whilst you can't really have any one of the three without the other for the sake of definition the class brain stormed (or a light drizzled) the specifics of the three.

Body	Materiality	Process
limits of resources strength and skill body imposes form and shape work with material using process material determines handling maker<-> user design for use	qualities of the material limits availability (cost supply) sustainability influence on product sentimental attachment aesthetics cultural / tradition location play	technique handmade research time steps equipment model macquette method learning skills practise practice system end-use

Clare introduced us to Clement Greenberg a modernist art critic writing in the 40's - 70's when modernism was mainstream. He has influenced (however unwittingly) the way craft is thought of written about today.

Before we carry on with that though Clare gives us a quick trajectory of modernist painting starting with

Impressionism

Claude Monet and his Haystacks (morning snow effect and thaw sunset)

Thanks to the invention of the Camera artists were not so needed to portray realism, these are considered to be the first steps away from the representational creating feelings and impressions, capturing the moment and the feeling of really being there! The availability of Paint in tubes assisted painting outdoors.

Post impressionism
Paul Cezanne and his 'Still life with apples & oranges' (1899)

Painting of everyday objects, different perspectives..see how the apples seem to be about to tumble toward you. Change of convention by using contrasting colours to create shadow rather than black.

Cubism
Pablo Picasso's 'Woman playing mandolin' (1909)

More flattening of perspective, capturing and portraying more than one viewpoint / all surfaces at once. Fractured space.

Expressionism
Eduard Munch 'The scream' (1893)

Painting portrays pure emotion. Gestural lines and movement with paint. Image articulates emotion and feeling through the use of colour, line and form and warped perspective.

Abstraction
Wassily Kandinsky. Black Strokes I. 1913. Oil on canvas. 129.4 x 131.1 cm. The Solomon R. Guggebheim Museum, New York, NY, USA

Music is the ultimate form of abstraction. Exploring colour, movement and form. brush strokes and mark amking led to the question of "What is painting?"
The moderninst definition being: 'Marks made in paint on a surface' This style was thought of as a 'truer' painting. Nothing is looking like something else (paint made to look like a person (or pipe)). This is paint, you can see how it was applied, the raw elements express the artist.

Suprematism
Kasimir Malevich 'Black square' (1929) the ultimate truthful painting..a definite move away from the past.

 Abstract expressionism
Mark Rothko no 12 (1951)
This is all about colour, saturation, soft edges, gestural. Expressing the inner nature of the artist, playing with paint in its pure form. 'essence of materials.
Clement thought that modern art needed to have a specialist audience (who was learned and sophisticated anough to sppreciate it), and that one should look at a work in isolation.

Then we had a quick recap on the concept of 'Truth to materials'.
Part of the modernist movement that had it's beginings in the arts and crafts movement. Decoration was subservient to form.

Sussex Rush-Seated Chairs. Page from the Morris and Co. catalogue. The Rossetti chair is at top left, the Sussex chairs the next three in the top row, and the roundseat chair possibly designed by F. M. Brown at bottom left. Thank you to the Victorian Web for the picture and credits.

"Simple objects speak for themselves" "Materials should determine the form" pure form..bring out the nature of the material

Mies van Der Rohe: Barcelona Pavillion (1929)

Object theory - 3

Olafur Eliasson MCA exhibition visit.

My second visit to experience "Take your time" was far better than the first. A weekday does make a difference and perhaps I had my "ART" hat on or being back at uni makes me more critically aware...whatever.


Question sheet:

 1. Have a really good thorough look at all the work in the exhibition. Make a note of 3 pieces you find particularly interesting or inspiring.
2. Go back to these works and record the following:when they were made, and a brief written description of the works including a small sketch. Elaborate on what you think these works might mean based on what you observe.
3.Craft objects are intimate with the body of the user, and form part of the users bodily memory. Discuss how Eliasson's work plays on the body of the viewer. Do you think this makes his work craft-like? Why or why not?

Right, well hummm..I really liked Room for one colour, 360 degree room for all colours, Moss wall, Beauty, Multiple grotto, leggo, one way tunnel and the maquette room. Narrowing down to 3 I would have to go for

27. Moss Wall (1994). Wood, moss and wire.
An entire wall is filled with a pale coloured moss. The aroma is fresh and natural, evocative within my experience of cool, sheltered English woodlands. The artwork stills the active body, stills the busy, distracted mind. Breathe in the scent, examine the smaller fronds. Close your eyes and leave the museum space.
Use all of your senses to experience the world, don't rely on one.

4. 360 degree room for all colours (2002) Stainless steel, projection foil, fluorescent lights, wood and control unit.
A ceilingless room, with a doorway, step inside and watch the walls flood with colour, lit from within, luminous and everchanging. I imagine this is what a bird would see in flight in the hours of dawn or sunset. When the colour ebbed away to leave plain white for a few moments I felt a keen sense of dissapointment (bring it back! my mind shouted).
Colour effects us ..don't try and deny it.

30. Beauty (1993). Spotlight, water, nozzles, hose, wood and pump.
In a dark cave the light, the mist and the viewer create a triangulation, though the viewer is not fixed and can change the experience by changing the shape of the triangle. In one moment the angles align and beauty is created. Shimmering rainbows spring in to being, twisting and drifting across the mist.
Don't just look at a subject or person from one view, try a different angle a different side.

Craft objects are intimate with the body of the user, and form part of the users bodily memory. Discuss how Eliasson's work plays on the body of the viewer. Do you think this makes his work craft-like? Why or why not?

Compared to these works,  viewing paintings seems a rather passive art engagement. All the viewer's senses are required for appreciation of Eliasson's work. Some, especially "Room for one colour (1997)" require your body to be in the room. You can see the yellow light from outside the room, but you need to step inside to watch all the colour drain from your body and clothes. You need to step inside to feel the moment of joy of being surrounded by the intense colour of sunshine and stay longer for the joy to be exchanged with a subtle nausea. Most of his work requires more than standing in front of a wall. You are required to move, to bend and peer, to look at others, perhaps even engage with others. Your body feels the sensations. In the leggo room (the cubic structure evolution project (2004)) your participation and imagination  is required. If we expereince the works without the body..say from over the internet we do not experience much...the body is needed.


Aspects of craft but ultimatley not.
A Craft object is intimate, because I can pick it up, move it from place to place, use it even. I can see this object every day, so it becomes familiar and intimate... before I touch it I know how it will feel, how much weight it has..prepare for its form. I can measure it's size against my body..perhaps with my hands, it belongs to me.

Object theory - 2

Reading:
Theories of Modernity / Mark Pennings. p 19-27.

Studio theory Essay

Slowly does it as usual (the last few days to be exact), 'Truth to material'....due Friday must be done by Friday morning for we have a mammoth claen up schedule for the glass studio...WOE betide any that miss that. Dougie is in bed, not feeling too good.

Unveiling the beast and Object theory

An early start was balanced with a cafe breakfast in Balmain. I removed the Larria mould from the kiln and stuck it in the mould room while I waited for it to cool down (a few hours). Deb and Jon were in the hot shop when a box of delights was opened in the courtyard. A box full of discount priced frits and powders in delightful colours. Poor Deb you could see her toes twitching in anticipation to have a look.

I finished off the MCA work sheet and I have started knitting some copper wire in preparation for our sand casting project.

At about 12 Nadine and I decided that the beast was ready (or not) to be unveiled. Several cuts (shared), the employing of many different tools and furious work later we revealed the glass within. Not as bad as we had feared. My camera is playing up at the moment so no photo's, sorry...until I work out how to get them off my phone.

After Object theory Nadine and I had a disscussion with Marcus about how to go about cold working all the leaks off. Deb is checking out our lighting options, I like having an interior decorater on the team.

So the idea from tomorrow morning is: it will soak in water and vinegar and have a scrub. Nadine is off to spend unwisely at the house of jewellery and get a suitable diamond bit (saucer shaped) to go on the engraver to slice off the bits of glass we don't want. Marcus suggested leaving the 'pourer' on to act as a base while Nadine works on the top. Smartly he also mentioned putting some sponge in the middle to give a soft landing to the bits falling off. and to work in sections...not leaving it all hanging on one last thread.

Meanwhile Dougie is having a very strange day at work...

Resources for research on Anne Dybka

http://www.cspgifts.com/dybka.html
http://www.womenaustralia.info/biogs/AWE2715b.htm
http://www.bluecatheaven.com.au/Mos%20art/CrowGirlGallery/valeannedybka.html
http://www.nga.gov.au/Material/Index.htm
http://www.nga.gov.au/Material/ArtistBio/dybka.htm
http://www.nga.gov.au/Material/details/dybka.htm
http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/collection/database/?irn=66414&search=bowl&images=&c=&s=
http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/collection/database/?irn=88206&search=Anne+Dybka&images=&c=&s=
Hirst (2005). "2005 Ausglass Honorary Lifetime Membership Award: Anne Dybka--A Celebration of Anne's Achievements.". Journal (Glass Art Society) (0278-9426), p. 16.