More Thoughts + Contract!

Hurrah! I finally finished the contract. But, I can't offer you a link or anything. You will just have to ask me if you want a copy to read over and then eventually sign.
Other than that, I thought it would be really interesting if I made a booth, kinda like a lemonade stand, and ask pedestrians and random passerbyers if they wanted to offer me a piece of their soul for art's sake. Or maybe a petition, going door to door asking for donations. I think I decided against that idea however because I am then violating peoples personal space, and I don't wanna get my nuts kicked or anything.
I also thought about the pictures I would be taking. I thought it might be even more interesting if I print and cut up all the pictures of the people I have taken in accordance with the percentage of soul that I was given, and collaged them together as a 100% complete soul. Example: Let's say Abe Lincoln gives me 25%, Farrokh Bulsara gives me 50% and Michael Jackson gives me 25% also. I will cut 25% of Lincoln and Michael's pictures out and collage them with Farrokh's 50%, so I amass a complete soul out of smaller portions.

Fiber art

This week, we all went to the Mint Museum of Craft and Design to study fiber art... for no particular reason. It was fun and enjoyable... until we actually saw the exhibit. I learned a lot... but will never use what I've learned. So all in all, it was very educational!

No really. What is holding these people back? They obviously have the talent and skills needed to really fuck with contemporary youth, but all they're doing is weaving pretty colors back and forth. I don't care to look at something that makes my limbic lobe relaxed and tranquil feeling. I want to look at shit that makes me ralph all over the floor or question my existence or at least have a greater appreciation for the methods used to create it in the first place. I would just rather see art that makes me change who I am. I like the shock value (and I don't mean shitty, underdeveloped shock) in contemporary art. Where is the serious content and purpose?

Some people like this stuff though, either because they suck at making quilts and they get a lot of inspiration out of looking at other aesthetically charged pieces or it reminds them of their dead grandmother or they just have a bland personality. And I know that not all art has to communicate an idea or message. Sometimes just evoking emotion is all that it is about, but for a museum that primarily contains art made after WW2, in an era that concerns itself with questions of what constitutes what art actually is, I expect to see something a little more avant-garde/modern than paleolithic... which leads me to my next point.

I don't know if I want to say this is art. Is it? Yes, the museum says it is. Does that mean I won't argue it? Hell no. Is it modern art? Yes, says the museum, but not really (not to me anyway). I'm aware we have been arguing what art is since the dawn of Greek civilization, and I know that there is no complete definition that clearly categorizes it, but I still have to argue it, especially because I live in a time that characterizes art as being original, transcendent of the literary, or pushing strong social and political viewpoints into the mainstream culture. When I see quilts or blankets hanging on the walls, I think textiles. Industrial Revolution. Cozy, warm, belongs on my bed. This type of work, as a whole, hasn't really developed so much that we can say it's breaking new boundaries or intervening on, manipulating or developing the social structures of our modern world. Shouldn't contemporary art and museums make the public stop in the middle of the sidewalk and ask questions about our morals or ethical principles, our ideas about global warming or baby killing, our addiction to prescription drugs or how we perceive Christ or our mother's sexuality?

Also, gotta love those docents! I just love the way they tell you how to think about art while you're being led around like a dog on a leash! While I personally prefer the Andrea Fraser types, I wouldn't have minded making hot, art-porn with ours either.

"I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." - Albert Einstein

Cliché? I think so! But important to realize none the less.
It is my belief that a true artist must completely explore, comprehend, accept and facilitate all sparks of creative thought. Art is a way of reflecting on our imagination, beliefs, gained knowledge and understanding of the world around us. Without a fundamental understanding of art and its disciplines, we wouldn't be able to express our individual ideas or culture as a whole.
Art must be viewed in the broadest sense of its meaning. It is an artist's duty to acknowledge and proliferate all forms of art - not just visual art, but performance, theatre, music, dance, language arts, culinary arts and the physical arts as well - even if they pursue mastery in only one or two specific disciplines.
Now I sure as hell don’t think my art is more important or meaningful than any person, be it Giotto or some random, Hispanic third grader, but I would have to say I was kind of disappointed in some of the Material Invention projects we looked at this week. I was expecting everyone in the class to have a firmer grip on exactly what they wanted to do, and develop their pieces like they would any other fine artwork they would work on.

Given, I myself didn’t develop my work as well as I would have liked, given the restrictions, but I still think I have a lot firmer grasp on how to manipulate content, form, or even the overall composition of my art work for a more powerful or aesthetical response. I’m very critical of other people doing a good job, and I know it sounds kind of doucheish, but I want everyone to realize that you are making this art for me too. So do a good job! You have lots to offer and I want to learn something from you!

As for our Meaning lecture, thanks Stephanie, Drake and David. I enjoyed sucking on your brains!

Material Experiment

How did I transformed space and 'transform things into other things':
As far as physically transforming space, I didn't have to do anything. These objects (or non objects) already exist in space and time and already take up whatever percentage of volume in the air. They transform space by just remaining.

When it comes to actually transforming one thing into another, I didn't really approach it as literal as some might. A little late in the project, I came to realize, after the useless hours of brainstorming, that I didn't have to transform the objects physical status or juxtaposition to another objects. I had been thinking how I could manipulate the environment to make my images stand out and look cool, edgy or unique. But the more attention I gave the object, the more I noticed it started to transform into a different object on its own. My pieces were starting to change how I perceive them in the first place, and they became a lot more delicate and perplexing. My objects had become more meaningful to me and that is how my things changed into other things.

Images:
I didn't really want to overload my images with every characteristic, or even more than 3. I didn't really want my pictures to look soo much like an assignment, and I didn't want to overload them with so many themes. Eight of my pictures have just two characteristics in them. Simple and sweet.
Without further ado, here's they be!

Assigning Meaning. mixed media. variable

This is my little buddy, Mr. Jiggles Copperpot. Sadly, I think it got fried by the powerlines... either that or some weird fucker skinned this poor creature. Either way, it exemplifies = One must be alive or have been alive at one time.

Kit Cat Clock and drawn impression of Kit Cat Clock = One must be fleeting and temporal + One must be smeared.


This next photo wasn't really of objects that I gathered, but they are objects I captured. This is a cemetery just outside of Salisbury up I85. Years ago, real live pirates were buried here. You wouldn't be able to tell that from the names on the headstones though, because there are none! It was considered to be such a disgrace to be a pirate back then, that they didn't even offer the deceased a proper burial. Not even family members of the pirates would have enough gumption to claim the bodies, so they were just buried and skulls and crossbones were etched into the stone. This image = One must be buried + one must be wicked. Below are some close ups of the graves!

Ask me how to get there if you are interested.


My favorite picture yet... my little piggy spilled her guts all over my sheets! One must spill or be able to spill + One must be soft.


I like the composition here. One must be wrapped + One must be scattered + One must produce an unexpected sound.


This is the most awkward thing I could make. I decided to blast my naked body with ice cold water, photograph it, and then show all of you, my classmates! You will never see me the same... One must be cold + One must be awkward.


This is the birthday cake my fiancee made for me last week. I didn't take it for this project, but I thought it worked out well... The letter candies were gritty and gnarled feeling. One must be gnarly + One must be edible.

Now this is ASTONISHING! I didn't take this picture, but it exemplified the most amazing thing I have seen in a while. I accidentally stumbled upon this banner on the internet advertising these. This is Stephanie, and she is one of many. She is a sex doll that you can buy from Realdoll.com, for a little over 7 G's. Go check it out!
I personally didn't know that they got this real. I want one really bad. And not just to have sex with, but to startle the shit out of the guests, businessman, Jehovah's witnesses, critters and loved ones that come to my home!! One must be astonishing + One must be distasteful. (I don't really find any distaste in it, but some might.)
This one I took during the Great Snow of 08'. I love this piece. One must be transformed by the wind + One must be luminous.


This is the last one. I'm sure many people had trouble once they got to the end of the line, with just two characteristics they had been putting off. My most unfavorite ones were stretched and smelly! One must be stretched + One must smell.

Thoughts On My Accumulation Thus Far...

I don't think this is going to work. I really want people to cooperate with me... I mean come on, it's only a tiny bit of the essence of your being! I thought about how to present it more. I started thinking about how Vito Acconci documented his stuff, with multiple pictures to accompany the words with his documentation. I don't think the signed contracts would be very interesting by themselves.
I started thinking about how religious people in Haiti and the D.R. don't let you take their picture if you are touring the area. They think your camera is lifting their souls right out of their body. I think it will be necessary to capture the images of my participants, regardless of whether they want me to or not.
Also, still working on the contracts. I've never written one before, so it's taking a little time.

What this class is really about...

The course description in UNCC’s catalogue for this class could read:

This class will help to teach the students how to B.S. their way through art school. Word manipulation lessons will prove vital in the art world when a) working to counter arguments against controversial pieces with subject matter ranging from religious defecation to homo-erotic sex practices, b) validating crude or immoral artistic philosophies, c) allowing and rationalizing the lacking consideration of another individual’s ideals or beliefs, as well as the teacher’s given assignments. Students will view degrading and obscene images of bitches holding horse cocks, as well as other images they never wanted to see in their lives for the purpose of expanding their understanding of what art really is. Students will also learn to articulate their very own sob-story to tell possible clientele at possible gallery openings.

This is the conservative in me coming out! But I’m awfully cynical at the same time. If this was in the catalogue though…, I would still take this class.

Art Cash

Loved the McColl Center… it was oodles of fun and enriching. I was amazed at how much money is distributed among the art community. I didn’t think the government really cared that much about us. As an educator, you constantly hear about more funding going to science and math programs. At the same token, I constantly hear about new funding programs for the arts in the public school systems as well, whether it be music or dance or just visual arts, whatever. But sometimes it just doesn't feel like there is enough. I'm just not seeing the kind of support or financial backing that I think these children need to grow into more cultured individuals. Sure their getting art supplies out the ass… and the fundamentals are there too (roygbiv, gradation, space, shapes, etc.) but kids aren’t getting a proper understanding of the history behind it all, the wars that have been fought over freedom of artistic expression or who are the greats and what were their philosophies. In grade school, I was one of the top students in the art classrooms, but none if mattered because there was no passion behind it, because there was a limited amount of information. When I got to college, I learned the concepts that made me understand why art was important and that was what affected me the most… the ideas that start a work in the first place, not the finished product. This is going to be one of my primary focuses when I start teaching.