art 21 videos

Sally Mann - I have discussed Sally Mann before in other classes, mostly involving controversial art and her images of children. It put a new spin on this topic to see and hear from her grown children, and to have a better understanding that the images were just their childhood and family life. As Mann said, she was just creating art to be fun, it didnt have to have some huge meaning behind it.
I liked her use of the phrase "magpie aesthetic" and the idea of using found objects in everyday life. This relates well to our scrapbook assignments. Also, it is refreshing to see an artist simply go with what grabs their attention without some hidden meaning or agenda. Sometimes it is refreshing to create art solely for the purposes of creating.

Mel Chin - His theme of consumption driving our country is absolutely correct. So it was interesting to see him building art to try and counteract some of the negative effects. I am still struggling with the concept of certain processes being considered art. But I guess the ideas presented here focus more on science as art, or construction as art. It seemed to me that the artist had an idea, such as the Detroit Nightcrawler house, and then says "ok, now that's art."
This leads to many questions that have been posed in previous classes about "What is art?" "Who decides what is art?" These questions always make for interesting discussions, because in some ways everyone is a critic and in some ways everyone is an artist.

James Turrell - You can tell that he is really passionate about his ideas of light and how it is viewed. It is a shame that his crater project is still incomplete, you have to wonder if Turrell get discouraged that it may never be finished. It seems like it would be a constantly evolving process, because light and shadow and the cosmos are always changing. Again, we were focused on the idea of architecture and construction as art.

Gabriel Orozco - It was thrilling to see the artist in his process. Like Sally Mann, Orozco sees art in everyday life and found objects. Also, I liked his idea of art being a constantly evolving hobby. Each time he changed his project focus, there was a new process and skills to be learned. I believe that this helps the artist stay on the verge of his talent, his ideas keep flowing. The contrast between his photographic style and that of Mann's was interesting. Mann spent a lot of time working in the darkroom and taking shots over and over until she felt they were done.
Orozco worked much more spontaneously. He did not have a studio and shot images with a simple camera. One shot, and whatever happens, happens.

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I do not think that most people, especially in today's society, consider books to be works of art. Books are generally regarded as something needed in education, and for the lucky few consider them for pleasure. However, books are made in a creative process just like works of art. There is a high level of visual thinking involved in creating and reading literature because you have to be able to open your mind and create images in your head. I also collect vintage books because I find their covers aesthetically pleasing and I think that they create an interesting visual element when on display. This is a Victor Hugo book that I have on a decorative shelf at home.

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These are shells found on the beach in Ocean City, MD. To continue the trend of items that were made in nature that I have collected to use in jewelry and crafts. I am very drawn to these types of items because I like the idea of using and reusing items in nature in creating art. There is something very organic and innovative in creating art that showcases nature, and so much of this relates to how you view the world. You have to be able to see beauty in the everyday and look for items in places that most people would not notice. You have to see beauty and art in the everyday world.

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These are some river rocks left over from a craft project that I did. Again, these are an element of nature that can be used in a decorative or artistic way. I thought that the colorings or lines on the rocks made them very beautiful, and the fact that they are created naturally and in a spontaneous manner makes them even more intriguing. I think that so much of our visual thinking is influenced by nature and the way we see things in the world around us. 

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I scanned in some beach glass found on the shore in Swan Point, Maryland. I chose these objects because they are not considered art, but they represent something beautiful created by nature. The glass becomes smooth and more opaque/frosted from being tumbled against stones and washes up on shore. In my spare time, I enjoy making crafts and jewelry and this is an element that i came across during those endeavors. This is a simple organic item, that when placed in a piece of jewelry or decorative item it becomes part of a work of art.

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Again, this is an item that I chose because I thought it would look visually appealing when scanned. It is simply a swirly straw with a skeleton, but I thought that the lines created by the straw and skeleton's position would create a nice composition. This object is used for an ordinary action, drinking, but it is a novelty item because a straw does not need to be designed like this to perform its function. I look at this item as a kind of pop art because it takes soemthing ordinary and makes it visually pleasing and interacts with the viewer.

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This item was given to me by a friend, it is a pair of ceramic elephant S&P shakers. She purchased it from a home decor organization that provides fair trade products from all over the world. This item draws my attention not only because I like the design, but also because I know that it's purchase helped do some good in the world.

This item is regarded as another mundane household item, yet knowing that it helped do some good in the world means that it deserves a little more of our attention. It may not be art, but I consider it beautiful and it makes dinner a little more fun.

It is interesting that many of my scrapbook items were given to me by other people, I think that makes me look a little more fondly and reflective on those items.

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I purchased this item (bottle opener) in Greenville, SC at a gift shop downtown. It drew my attention because the aesthetics of the design are pleasing. The rounded modern feel of the silver and the palmetto tree design add personality to a normally mundane kitchen element.

While a bottle opener itself may be a considered a necessity, a designed silver may be regarded as a luxury. However, if using the item or simply having it in the kitchen brings joy and memories to the viewer, than I think it deserves our attention. This bottle opener falls not in the realm of art, but more so of industrial design. However, most industrial designers may tell you that is art.

scrapbook 1

This particular apple was actually mailed to me from South Carolina by my mother, it is a Honey Crisp apple and you can't find them very often up here. The pattern and coloring on the apple caught my attention because the colors were very bright and I thought the contrast would look striking against the black background of the scanner. 

Most simply, we regard this as a piece of food, something to sustain ourselves. However, because it is a piece of fruit it is regarded as better than many choices for food out there. 

An apple is not art, unless you consider the occasional appearance in a still life. But it does deserve our attention because I think when we come across a piece of fruit that was home grown or is particularly fresh, it tends to evoke feelings of goodness and reminds us of nature. Fresh produce, and apples in particular remind me of summers at my grandparents where they grew most food themselves and we could eat apples right off the tree.