Looking Back, Looking Forward

Did you catch Leticia Bajuyo while she was here last week?  Thanks to Professor Daniel Graham and Kappa Pi Prez Kelsey who assisted with the de-install!  Note to the pink slinkys:  we will always remember you!

Speaking of Kappa Pi, the club's first meeting is happening TODAY at 12 noon.  Please check it out!  Speaking of checking things out, Art Tigers--they're GRRREAT!--- will be meeting Tuesdays in the Jacobs Gallery, 12:15-12:45, beginning next week.

And, you know you don't want to miss the Closing Reception and Panel Discussion for the Anne Wright Wilson Fine Arts Gallery exhibitions, El Grabado Mexicano: Prints from Mexico and Derechos en Tierra Ajena: Works by Rosa Angelica Gomez Mier, Thursday evening, September 2 from  5-7 p.m. with a panel discussion (NEXUS credit) from 5:30-6:30.  Two distinguished art faculty members are participating:  Professors Daniel Graham and Jamie Ratliff.  

On Sunday, I attended a sort of retrospective event, "DENNIS FEST,"  a party honoring an artist who has spent most of his distinguished career assisting other artists.  Dennis Harrington is a friend and respected advisor of countless numbers of arts professionals.  I encourage you to check out the space he has curated, designed, and directed for around 15 years now, the Alice F. and Harris K. Weston Art Gallery in downtown Cincinnati:  http://westonartgallery.com/   The "Fest" event was full of looking back, at Dennis's contributions to the regional arts community and at artists, young and old, whom he has nurtured throughout all stages of their lives.  Far from being subdued, the crowd was upbeat and positive, for Dennis's future is bright: he's at the midpoint of his career, not the end.  The arts live on, through our mentors and through us!  Keep the arts moving forward, fellow travelers--get involved in your arts community!

New Course Offering This Semester

If you are looking to pick up an extra 2 hrs, or in the need to replace a course please consider adding ART370B Professional Practice.

In this course we will cover the undercurrent practices found in the professional art field. The skills covered in this course will include but not be limited to portfolio design, resume writing, letter writing, self promotion, interview conventions, website design and construction, mat cutting, framing and display, and artist statements/art historical statements. Please refer to the calendar on the flyers in the hallway to see what exactly we will do throughout the semester. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask Daniel.

Boris's 2nd, 8/27 Re: Departures

That’s the way it goes. Art opens and closes, comes and goes, moves on. I will be another to say I miss Leticia Bajuyo’s “pink slinkies” already (just as I regret missing saying hello to her yesterday). I enjoyed it for many reasons. Yes, they were a perfect set-up for pretend spaceship odyssey with a two-year old, or pleasure of different kind altogether, if you’re up for a colorful dose of pink-on-green every morning. But whatever your conversation comes of it, chances are, it drew you close. It’s the kind of draw that a well-done public piece usually does.

Also, tonight is the last of Becky Alley’s “Creatures Great & Small” at the LAL (5/3rd Fourth Friday reception will start at 6pm). Since I could afford to drop-in a few times over the summer, I didn’t take it in all at once and viewed it incrementally. In this way, taxidermic artfix, freaky animatronics, a mild Frankenstein reflex remained somewhat compartmentalized sensations. In almost all cases, I believe Alley kept “cuteness” in check, and went for the deep-down romance with bringing creatures (still in Herriot’s sense) to life. Unadulterated stuff. Catch it in before it departs.

(That’s tonight 6-9pm w. food from Calistoga, music by Corduroy Sedan, on patio for the outdoor entertainment. Loudoun House, and if you need more info, call 859-254-7024.)

see: Creatures

Opportunity: Graphic Design position

An alum has passed this job tip on to me to share with everyone:

Go here (UK Jobs Site) and search https://ukjobs.uky.edu/applicants/jsp/shared/search/Search_css.jsp

Requisition Number: SF531979

Graphic Artist w/ UK Healthcare (College of Medicine and Department of Surgery)

The ideal candidate will have the following: expertise in InDesign, DreamWeaver, Photoshop, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel; advanced use of English language and medical terminology; innovative; writing proficiency; attention to detail; and ability to meet deadlines.

"of or suitable for the Sabbath"

Prefatory note: I hope that readers of the blog will enjoy our new feature of having regular posts of original content. Boris started things off last week and in turn, we've each added a bit of looking back, looking forward, or looking around. Please feel free to comment on our posts.

The subject of my post for this week is my mini-sabbatical. Typically, a sabbatical is time away from one's profession, over the course of one semester or an entire year. Faculty apply to "take" a sabbatical and, upon being awarded the sabbatical, they are able to spend the time in a way that is meaningful to them. It is hoped that this opportunity will, then, contribute to the greater good of the organization -- in this case, Georgetown College. Being granted a sabbatical is, in my opinion, both a reward and an affirmation from the college.

There are, if memory serves me correctly, three students among our art majors who would be able to recall the year that Boris was on sabbatical. He spent a good part of 2006-07 in New York, taking up a studio there, travelling to Australia to present material at a conference, and a number of other activities that a prolonged period away from regular teaching duties can provide. In the coming years Daniel and Darrell will make their applications for tenure and promotion, then also sabbatical. Having our faculty take sabbaticals is, I feel, an affirmation that your art faculty are scholars in their fields and, because of this, the college affords them time-off as a re-investment in us, affording us time for concentrated study.

Because of various administrative and other obligations, I have been awarded a mini-sabbatical (I think the term, actually is "staggered"). This means that I will be teaching half as many courses over the course of the year and, also, working, feverishly, on several projects over this year. One of these is curating an exhibition at the Loiusville Visual Arts Association. Another project is completing an essay on public sculpture that will appear in Choice, a publication of the American Library Association. These two projects are on the docket, and I've got several others in my Filofax.

I am not sure how many of these activities qualify as being "suitable for the Sabbath", as the etymology of "sabbatical" connotes, but I think that they are worthwhile. The projects that I have undertaken, and will continue to work on over the course of this year, are meaningful to me and enable (and will continue to enable) me to focus some attention and energy reading and researching topics that I love. I've already got a few books up my sleeve that I'd like to share on the blog in the coming weeks.

So, while you may see me less frequently on campus, know that my time is being spent reading and researching, sharing my work, and spreading the word about Georgetown College and our amazing galleries and department, including my colleagues and students. Thank you to everyone who has come by to visit this week to visit and to check in with me. I do appreciate it!

Dr. Decker (who goes by the pen name Earl Grey)

A Master Woodworker or How I Spent My Summer, part 1

Summer is a great time to break away from the typical routine and do something fresh or new. In my case, I had the wonderful opportunity to work on a couple projects with a master woodworker.

Occasionally, you will have the chance to study and work with someone you admire and whose skills seem almost magical. Their wealth of knowledge and lifetime of experience are unfathomable. And for a short time, you are able to observe and hopefully soak up their wisdom, and perhaps someday pass it on to another.

Fortunately for me, I have had a lifetime to learn from a great master, my dad, Roger Kincer. For as long as I can remember, he has been designing and building outstanding works in his shop. This summer, our first task was a wardrobe.

With the addition of our new son, Owen (almost 5 months now), we needed a little more room at home for storing clothes—my clothes to be specific. So my dad and I set out to design a wardrobe to match our bedroom set which he built over 35 years ago.

With some basic size parameters that I laid out, he began to conceive a plan to create this new addition. And after days and weeks of construction, the piece you see here was completed. So now I have room for all of my clothes, and more importantly a family heir loom to be enjoyed for generations to come.


Posted by Prof. Darrell Kincer

Art Matters

What is art?  Does it matter?  Some of us might argue that it matters indeed because art is something essential to our humanity.  Many art historians will point to the pre-historic cave paintings as proof of man’s earliest quest to communicate.  It is such communication—and the myriad forms it takes—that causes us to experience art in uniquely subjective ways.  And, we can have conversations, even arguments, about what makes art good (or bad) while relying on objective evidence, such as formal analysis and primary research as well as secondary research and theory.

Returning art majors may have noticed some changes to the campus community--a new face in the galleries and a fun, outdoor area of the Wilson in which to relax and talk.  There is even a new edition to the public sculpture collection: The Stephen D. Elrod Memorial by Amanda Matthews.  Other changes include the departure of two public works installed as part of the temporary exhibition, Live.Learn.Believe., which debuted in 2007.  We will miss the pleasant surprise Allison Warren’s Crossing (After Whitman) gave us as we traversed across the green grass between the Anne Wright Wilson Fine Arts Building and the Ensor Learning Resource Center.  And, fond memories of actively engaging with the kinetic and participatory Pass the Lace Through the Loop (“see saw” sculpture) at the corner of Mulberry and Jackson Streets, will have to suffice since we can no longer teeter and totter with its creator, our friend and mentor, Professor Daniel Graham.

Very soon, Georgetown College will say good-bye to another landmark, also a part of Live.Learn.Believe., Leticia Bajuyo’s Forces of Nature: Hurricanes and Slinkys, those aesthetically pleasing, hot pink spirals of tubing that burst forth like peonies from the lawn along Memorial Drive, beckoning all visitors to this beautiful campus to stop and consider:  is that art?  Old and new students alike, please consider helping Ms. Bajuyo de-install her piece; ask her questions; learn of her challenges and her successes.  She will be here this Thursday, August 26 around 11:00 a.m.  

Perhaps more importantly, tell non-art majors and other members of our community about the departure of these sculptures.  Ask them whether they enjoyed these works of art while we had the privilege of having them here with us.  You may be surprised at their answers; listen to and agree or disagree with their opinions.  These types of art conversations really do matter.

Opportunity: Judge Elementary School Art Contest

Art students: Consider this opportunity as a good one-time event that can help to build your resume and serve the community. Nationwide a Reflections program is coordinated at each schoool and we will be conducting an art contest that is hosted by the National PTA. The program has six categores: visual arts, dance choreography, photography, music composition, literature, and film production. We are going to be judging the entries Thursday, October 14th from 3:00 - 7:30. The judging time is open, therefore judges may come and go as they finish judging. NOTE: Judges can be anyone 18 or older. Maybe one or two students can go together to do this?

Thanks for your time, Gretchen Olds-Roentz, Reflection Coordinator for Sandersville
Elementary for 2010-2011 859-309-2380 y_gretchen@hotmail.com

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.

This is my inaugural post. No particular theme for this week, but here are some subjects I look forward to writing about this fall. Obviously, my primary focus will be on coursework from ART115, ART117, ART232/332, and Spring ART455, the activities of KappaPi, and the GC galleries and exhibitions and the rest. On slow weeks, expect some thoughts on various topics: the latest from Liverpool Biennial, TAMU exhibition, the collaborations with faculty, on s p a c e (w. Decker/Stewart) or the exhibition at Hanover College (w. Graham/Kincer), etc., as well as the latest from the Lexington Art League’s events and programs. From what I can tell so far, it will be an exciting and busy semester.

Finally, in spirit of teaching in Greece next year and with this summer cooling off, here is a typical westwardly view of the Parthenon, squint-glazed by the just-as-typical mid-afternoon Aegean Sun. Gives me pause every time. For Greece and other Summer Abroad KIIS programs, see website: www.kiis.org

(courtesy of Dr. Arnson-Svarlien, Athens 2007)

Boris's 1st Post (Friday, 8/20/2010)

Hello. This is my inaugural post. No particular theme for this week, but here are some subjects I look forward to writing about this fall. Obviously, my primary focus will be on coursework from ART115, ART117, ART232/332, and Spring ART455, the activities of KappaPi, the GC galleries and exhibitions and the rest. On slow weeks, expect some thoughts on various topics: the latest from Liverpool Biennial, TAMU exhibition, the collaborations with faculty, on s p a c e (w. Decker/Stewart) or the exhibition at Hanover College (w. Graham/Kincer), etc., as well as the latest from the Lexington Art League’s events and programs. From what I can tell so far, it will be an exciting and busy semester.

Finally, in spirit of teaching in Greece next year and with this summer cooling off, here is a typical westwardly view of the Parthenon, squint-glazed by the just-as-typical mid-afternoon Aegean Sun. Gives me pause every time. For Greece and other Summer Abroad KIIS programs, see website: www.kiis.org

(courtesy of Dr. Arnson-Svarlien, Athens 2007)

Super Sculpture Send-off !!!

On Thursday August 19th at 5pm, please join the Georgetown College Art Department along with artists Allison Warren and Daniel Graham on the lawns at the corners of Mulberry, College, and Jackson Streets. Learn about Public Sculpture while helping these artist with their creative processes! Then take the chance to cool off in the Anne Wright Wilson Fine Arts Gallery while viewing our current shows!

This evening will also be host to a Community Arts and Antiques walk from 5-8pm. And Fava's restaurant is celebrating their 100th! anniversary, so Main St. will be closed to traffic, and their will be live music and fun! Hopefully with all of this going on we can attract some members of the community to our campus.

The following week, artist Leticia Bajuyo, who created the loved pink slinkys will be returning to de-install her work, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Spread the word on these events and get excited for another wonderful year in the ART DEPARTMENT!

Opportunity: Exhibition, deadline Nov. 1, 2010

Flier in the lobby of art building or check online:

http://www.minotstateu.edu/nac/pdf/pw_2011_prospectus.pdf

Opportunity: Art Art Zine Publication

Students! Consider submitting your visual and written work to a new online publication:

Art Art Zine: a New Online Publication of Art and Society for the South

Open call for submissions:

Art Art Zine

Http://www.artartzine.com

a new text based publication for writers, artists, critics, historians, sociologists and academics with support from the Art Departments of Vanderbilt University and Austin Peay State University.

Looking for creative, relevant and unique works of writing, utilizing the flexibility of online publication where the amount of words, or use of images or videos is seldom an issue. For inquiries or to submit work please email the editor at Amelia.Winger-Bearskin@vanderbilt.edu

Learning Center Commission Opportunity

I was contacted by Spring Hollow Early Learning Center about the following:

"I am the atelierista at Spring Hollow Early Learning Center in Franklin, TN. We are currently searching for an artist to create a metal or wooden work for one of our classroom walls. Our small non-profit school is inspired by Reggio Emilia practices and the arts are highly valued by the children and staff. The work needs to hang securely from a flat wall and have safe rounded edges. We would like it to be functional in that we can hang children's art from it as well. We will pay for supplies and can offer the artist fifty dollars for the work. I was hoping to find a student who has a passion for sculpture that would enjoy helping a preschool. I graduated from Georgetown in 1999 and know what phenomenal students are working there. I hope you can help"

If you have any interest in this opportunity please contact Casey (her email is listed below) or Daniel

Casey Kirk

Spring Hollow Early Learning Center

casey.kirk00@gmail.com

www.springhollowschool.com