Embracing Challenges

"Momentum," a light and sound show at The Curve, an art space at the Barbican Center in London.
Galleries are creating unconventional  spaces to showcase unusual exhibits. Credit James Medcraft/Barbican 

What is an "unconventional" space? In the gallery world, unconventional usually means non-rectangular. Take a look at the space at Barbican, London. This area shown above was deemed a concourse (think airport) non-site yet it has become the hub of installations of late. Artists are drawn to the unusual space and take advantage of it. A former challenge is now embraced.

Here's a photo of the lavish interior of the Guggenheim.
I took this photograph last Winter at the Gutai exhibition.

Exterior of the Guggenheim, New York

An unconventional space that might be a bit more familiar comes from our art history survey textbooks...Frank Lloyd Wright's structure for the space that would become known as the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum on New York's Upper East Side. Think of the Guggenheim as one piece of bread and the Met as the other—the slices of architecture embrace the natural environment of Central Park.

When it opened in 1959, the Guggenheim was deemed an eyesore because it was considered a work of (applied) art that could perhaps detract from the real art on view. Like the Barbican's space, the Guggenheim presented installation challenges — how to hang in a space that lacks 90-degree angles. But now, this New York gem is a coveted space for artists to use. Truly, artists of the modern and contemporary eras have risen to the challenge and embraced such overbearing structures and, as a result, have activated spaces in new ways.

Perhaps in a very short while, London's Barbican will become the kind of cultural icon that Solomon R.'s building has become.

HELP HELP HELP!

NEXT WEEK starting BRIGHT and early MONDAY morning, the next artist, Crystal Wagner, in the Wilson Gallery will start her site specific installation piece, Vestibule.

I am calling on anyone and everyone who would be interested in helping with a major installation to contact me (jeanette_tesmer@georgetowncollege.edu) ASAP. We need all hands on deck for this!

REASON WHY YOU SHOULD HELP:
meet the artist
have a great time
see what art on steriods is all about
dance
put assisting with a MAJOR installation on your resume
you love art
want to know how these things work
want to be one of the cool kids
_________________________ (come up with your own)

Whatever your reason this is going to be a crazy week of ART in the Wilson building. Even if you can't commit time stop by and check things out!

Artist Statement:
Vestibule is a conduit. A space somewhere between the plastic and artificial environment of our everyday experiences with man-made materials, consumerism, and technology and the exotic landscapes that occupy the surface of our earth. It explores ideas related to human beings and the increasingly severe divide between themselves and the natural world by growing, as if it were a life form, through the gallery. The exoticization of nature and all things, non-human, make forms that were once familiar, more foreign.  While this dissonance continues to escalate, making more and more of our natural world seem alien to us, there is a strange familiarity and attraction to the forms that people categorize as exotic and even in our attempt to keep the outside, out, plastic plants occupy small corners of peoples homes. I am interested in how these ideas relate to our everyday materials, the accessibility and excess in mass production, and how it affects peoples experience with the world that they live in.

Above are images from Crystal's installation Arboretum. You can see how detailed in intricate this massive structure is. For more images please check out her website.

Louisville Art Scene

The three-day weekend was a great opportunity to take in the Louisville art scene. I was able to view five shows: one closing, two opening, and two remaining on view. Hopefully you'll find time to take in one of these. If nothing else, make a trip to the KMAC to pick up the exh catalogue for this show—it's fashioned after an old-school airline ticket envelope to hold boarding passes—something familiar to travellers in the days before e-ticketing.

Created by Design Research, this folder is a stunning reminder of innovation and
expanding the boundaries—of graphic design - that serves as a fitting tribute to
Saarinen's quest for timeless principles that used innovation through technology. 

Senior Spotlight: Jen Stephenson

Jen Stephenson (LaGrange, KY) worked with linwood, ebony pencil, wood, mulch, paper and platform fabrication -- a bit of departure from her intense and overt use of cicada or snake shells. Her aim was just the same, to remind us of the importance of the nature's many lessons. But with an attempt at listening "her" in deft and more patient ways. Two six-foot sections of log standing upright are the main subjects of the installation, and viewers are invited to step up onto the tree's supporting bases to experience the work in a more personal way. 

*The image below is a detailed view of other smaller podium pieces also included in the installation.  

As a child, I spent my days outdoors; exploring, climbing, and playing in the woods that were my backyard. As the years progressed I left that woods behind, but my fascination with nature stayed with me and grew stronger, nurtured by constant study and experience. This passion began to be reflected in my art early on, and has been a favorite theme of mine that has guided my art making and process. I prefer working with natural materials and imagery, as I feel that it imparts a sense of the spirit of the world into my projects. -- Jen Stephenson

Jen Stephenson,  Lend Me Your Ear, and I Will Lend You My Spirit (detail of the installation) 

Jen is one of the five BA candidates in why is this happening? (2013 Senior Thesis, ART455). Please revisit the last week's expos on Daniel, Lauren and Elizabeth, and look for Kayleigh in the coming days. 

why is this happening?

Senior Art Exhibition 2013 

March 22 - April 5, 2013

reception, lecture and screening: Friday, March 22, 5 – 7 PM

For more information please follow Anne Wright Wilson Fine Arts Gallery, Georgetown College, Georgetown, KY http://www.georgetowncollege.edu/galleries/ or https://www.facebook.com/whyisthishappening2013

Jeanette Tesmer, Director of Art Galleries and Curator of Collections
E-mail: jeanette_tesmer@georgetowncollege.edu
Phone: 502-863-8399

Boris Zakic, Professor of Art

E-mail: boris_zakic@georgetowncollege.edu
Phone: 502-863-8107

Interns Needed at Lexington Art League in May

The Lexington Art League (LAL) is presenting SITE, an exhibition of work by 5 installation artists.  The show will open at the Loudoun House May 24, 2013.  The featured artists are: Alisa Dworsky (Burlington, VT) www.alisadworsky.com, Liz Miller (Good Thunder, MN) www.lizmiller.com, Jason Paradis (Long Island, NY) www.jasonparadisart.com, Chee Wang Ng (New York, NY) http://www.ngcheewang.com/installation, and Blake Eames (Lexington, KY) blakeeamesdesign.com/portfolio/paintings.

Each of the five artists will be in town installing their work during the week leading up to the opening.  Each of the artists needs two assistants that must commit to helping for 5 full days, 9am-5pm, May 20-24.  Lunch will be provided each day.  The tasks required of the volunteers will vary depending on the nature of the artist’s work but could include painting, constructing, working with power tools, lifting, unpacking, lighting, documenting (photo or video), etc.

We are looking for 10 dedicated and enthusiastic people to help us make the exhibition happen.  This is a great opportunity for students or any interested individuals to work with professional artists and work with each other on a meaningful project.  All of the artists and assistants will be working concurrently, so the house will be buzzing with energy and activity.

LAL offers internships and practicum opportunities throughout the year.  We would be happy to work with any student on incorporating this into a spring or summer internship at LAL if desired.

Please let me know if you have any questions.  We are anticipating a lot of interest in this, so please encourage students to contact me as soon as possible to sign up.

Sincerely,
Becky Alley
LAL Exhibitions & Programs Director

Opportunity: Show art

Calling all sculptors and installation artists! Share your artistic passion on See.Me - a new creative community - and have a chance at over$125,000 in awards, including your own massive billboard display in Times Square, New York City.

It’s free and easy to join. Click Here to Participate Join before January 29, 2013 11:59pm ET and be eligible for over $125,000 in awards.

Modern Art Presentations

Students in the Modern Art course have been giving presentations on art movements and sub-movements, approaches, and media of the past half century. Topics this week have included assemblage, photography, architecture, pop art, minimalism, feminism, and earthworks. Despite the cold and, yes, snow flurries! students left the art building, under Katie's direction, and went across the street to create an earthwork first hand. The task: to engage and make work with the earth or the living environment.

As readers of the blog may know, my personal and professional interest in public art extends to land art as well. While there are multiple definitions of this movement (and, as Katie pointed out today, Stokstad only gives us two paragraphs of information about this movement), I see earthworks and land art as one of the defining shifts in modern art. The premise of this sub field (pun intended) is straightforward and two-fold. Land art and earth art/earthworks, a movement and classification of public art that emerged in the 1960s and continues today, makes the earth both a canvas and the pedestal for works. Such artworks are intended primarily as permanent, large-scale forms in wide-open spaces and in particularized natural environments, such as along a river, within a lake, amidst a field, or in an urban setting. Examples include Claes Oldenburg's Placid Civic Monument (1967), Michael Heizer's Double Negative (1969-1970), Walter de Maria's The Lightning Field (1974-1977), James Turrell's Roden Crater (1977-present), Christo and Jeanne-Claude's Valley Curtain (1970-72), and Nancy Holt's Sun Tunnels (1973-76).

Our earthwork was conceived in the space across from the Art Building -- the grassy area that Allison Warren once took up for her public art piece, Crossing (after Whitman). As a class, we chose to create one work rather than single works individually. Aptly titled A Pile of Sticks (We're Very Literal), the installation/earthwork was created with natural materials only and without the aid of any connective materials or alterations of the form in order to join elements. See top photo for the completed work. While A Pile of Sticks (We're Very Literal) may not withstand the semester or, even the day, we hope that you enjoy this ephemeral earthwork.

Our next project is the Modern Art Game Day. Join us on Monday, December 12 in the Wilson Gallery around 12:30 (giving us time to set up the games at noon). All are welcome to join us!

PS to TJ: Thanks for taking our photos.

PPS: as a way to link this post with the previous one by Darrell, see this information on a new exhibition in Paris on anamorphosis, that is, an image that needs to be seen from a special angle to be seen without distortion. Story here.

Fan of Leonardo's "Last Supper"?

Feast your eyes on this video and the write up in the New York Times.

Digestible influence of spaces

What makes a space a place:

One of my all time favorite books is The Poetics of Space (the classic look at how we experience intimate places) by Gaston Bachlard and quite a bit of my artistic practice at one time dealt with the boundaries of personal space and how to reclaim a very public space into a very intimate experience. Along his lines of reason and my experience of redesigning public spaces within the art building I give you the following look at what appears to just “happen” but really is a lot of sweat and thought. (If you are looking for a story about Thomas Edison and how he shook my hand come and ask me about it but it is a bit to long for this place)

When I was recently asked what has been one of my favorite experiences or memories in my short time here I answered with “when we got a couch in the art building”. I saw this as a major turning point it the attitude of the students of the art department. One student would approach another with the phrase “you are on my part of the couch” as if they owned it. Do you own it? I would hope you think so. There is something very important of not only taking ownership of your environment (this does include being responsible for it) but understanding the role of it defining your perspective. Speak to any designer and they will speak to the idea of designing an experience and in a way the spaces we design for you are also scripting a course for your ship to sail. Whether it is the common places that can be used as private (the couch, the balcony, classrooms and studios) or it is the galleries I hope that you digest the purpose for these walls, their shape, and their order.

I have a common disease that is a constant battle of spacial order. As Bachlard puts it “For every great dreamer of corners and holes, nothing is ever empty. A living creature fills an empty space, images inhabit, and all corners that are not inhabited are haunting.” I look at artist like Gregor Schneider and feel a little bit more on the side of normal. But growing up in a military family moving every 2 years of my life I still require quite a bit of change to feel comfortable. Due to this life I do believe that we deinstall a previous life in order to install ourselves into a space, and public spaces are no different. This is a constant in the world of academia. Spaces and the lives that inhabit them are in a constant state of change. Combine this with a refinement of design for the direction of a program and its spaces and you come to a place where nothing and everything is stable. It is much like the ocean.

You now have a few new changed spaces in the art department here at Georgetown since you were here last. To first time art students these will appear as normal and I hope you install yourself into the building and claim your own place to be your space. To those who own these places and you have been around before I hope you enjoy the work we have put into them.

Packing tape Installation

Viennese/Croatian design collective For Use/Numen.

The team uses nothing but packing tape to create huge, self-supporting cocoons that visitors could climb inside and explore.

Installed three times in the past year, the next deployment will be next week from June 9–13 at DMY Berlin's International Design Fair, which is now in its 8th year.

The installations, which look like the work of horrifyingly large arachnids, grew in scale and scope as the year progressed, first deployed inside a small Croatian gallery, then an abandoned attic during October’s Vienna Design Week.

At the last installation inside Odeon, a former stock exchange building in Vienna, the group used nearly 117,000 feet and 100 pounds of tape. “The installation is based on an idea for a dance performance in which the form evolves from the movement of the dancers between the pillars,” explains For Use’s Christoph Katzler. “The dancers are stretching the tape while they move, so the resulting shape is a recording of the choreography.”

The installation’s over-the-top theatricality comes easily to the collective, who design sets as well as furniture for the likes of Moroso and Element. In September, they’ll create a tape installation in a public space in the center of Frankfurt, and a five-star design hotel on the Croatian coast is forthcoming.