Countdown to Linda: TODAY, updated!

UPDATE! following event

See above for footage of 2 seconds of fame. Boris and I waiting for the rest of our troops to depart from the Speed and head over to the reception following the lecture last evening. Who's in the background? None, other than Dr. Nochlin and Dr. Jongwoo Jeremy Kim, faculty at the U of L who studied under Dr. Nochlin and introduced Linda last evening. The evening also included visits to the Speed galleries and the work of Tom Huck in the Hite Galleries at the U of L.

about the event...

Join AHRECO (Art History Reading Community) for the journey to Louisville to hear noted art historian, Linda Nochlin, who will lecture at the U of L. Details: leave GC at 2:15 today (note earlier time than previously posted), head over to the U of L/Speed campus. Lecture at 6 pm. Those who wish can visit 21C on the way home. Hope you can join us. RSVP to Dr. Decker by noon TODAY! Also, join the reading group, as we'll review Nochlin's seminal essay "Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?"

Nochlin's topic tonight is poverty and the French artist Gustave Courbet -- "Misère: Courbet, Millet, and the Representation of Poverty in the Nineteenth Century." Update on the event is above this post.

Out With the Old, In With the New

Over Spring Break I spent some time changing and updating my website, darrellkincer.com. A friend introduced me to WordPress and how the platform can be easily edited, changed, and customized. Over the course of a few days I came up with a look and concept that I like.

In the beginning, WordPress was a bit daunting, mostly because I didn't know how to control the application or where adjustments or nuances could be found. But in time I located the features I wanted and have come up with something. I'm still continuing to edit and tweak and what I like most is that I can enter and edit my site through WordPress's online access. This means I can access my site from any computer—at home, at work, wherever.

Ultimately WordPress is a lot like Blogger (what we use for GCVA) in that it is designed as a blogging tool. But with the correct edits and adjustments it can be turned into more of a full-fledged portfolio site.

This might be an interesting option for those with little web design or coding experience. It might be even more interesting for those who do. If you have your own site and domain name, you can import and use WordPress.org; if you just want a free site, you can visit WordPress.com.

DK

Opportunities: Wedding Photographer NEEDED!

Contact former art major, Bekah Woodall:

bwoodall0@gmail.com

The date of the wedding is October 15 in Somerset

Leo the Lion

The news that influential art historian and critic Leo Steinberg recently passed away took me by surprise.  The name was familiar--I recall reading essays by the man--but I wasn't sure of the influence.  Intrigued by the title of the article, "The Man Who Taught Us to See", I read on.

Prior to his death at age 90 last week, Steinberg retired in 1991 from his position as professor of art history at the University of Pennsylvania.  There, he was a Renaissance and Baroque scholar who wrote extensively about Michelangelo and others as well as on modern masterworks such as Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, 1907 (below image courtesy of MOMA).

Steinberg deftly countered arguments by formalist critics such as Clement Greenberg by focusing on how subject matter, symbolism, narrative, as well as contextual information like pop and material culture, inform works of art as much as (if not more so) than their formal qualities. The author of The Wall Street Journal article Eric Gibson points out that Steinberg believed art was multi-layered.  Gibson writes, "Undergirding [Steinberg's] examinations was the question, 'What is the artist trying to tell us?'"

"The Man Who Taught Us to See" is a great read.  So much so that it makes me want to read more by Steinberg. 

Process

I have always been a fan of process. I love things that take steps and contain history of how its made. I love looking at sculptures and prints, seeing details that reveal tools, hands and compositions. Growing up my mother and I shared this passion for process and would go around town with sketchbooks in hand trying to figure out how things were made or worked. I so often would fall in love with an object not over its appearance but over the machines that made it.  Much like a glass bottle factory tour from one of my favorite shows of all time "How it's Made".



So when I recently came upon this site Product by Process I got stuck for a long time. It contains some great process videos and they are broken down by material and form along the right side menu.  If you get some time or are curious how something is produced this is a great resource.

One of my favorite experiences recently was through Boris talking about the Invisibility of Pictures exhibition at hanover college.  The video was shot when I was dying of the flu and couldn't make the trip up for the installation.  So Boris talked about my work in the show (thanks again to Boris for all of your work on the show and to Boris and Darrell for making the drive to install).  There is this beautiful moment where Boris says "Daniel's work, for lack of a better description utilizes some mysterious transfers". I just thought that was brilliant. So often as a printmaker you scrutinize over how its made or what process was used.  I loved someone else talking about the work and totally stepping over that land mine of a process conversation.

So in the current world of art and fabrication do you think it matters how it is made?
For years it was a higher value for hand made works. For years it was design. It has always been through the cycle of trend. But does the process matter?

Web Position

Company: Alltech, Inc Location: Nicholasville, KY

Job Type: Intern

Hours: Full Time – Summer (May-Aug)

Details? Contact Holly James in the Internship Office

The Art and Science of Looking

Research on museum visitorship, studies and statistical data about collections, and quantitative as well as qualitative research in museums fascinate me. Take, for instance, a recent article published in the Daily Mail that disclosed the results of a study conducted at Tate Britain, where museum-goers were observed while viewing works of art. The numerical data is surprising (for example, the longest observation was, in fact, contemplation of Sir John Everett Millais' Ophelia, where a viewer contemplated the painting for 30 minutes in contrast to a mere five seconds or, rather, a sheer avoidance or un-acknowledgement of works by Damien Hirst, b. 1965--).

Yes, you can argue that looking at a work of art means that it captures your attention. But the act of looking does not confirm that you like the work. What determines the turn to look and further, how long we spend looking at a work of art? Certainly, a factor to consider is the viewer's like or dislike, but what else? To invoke, yet again, our friend from AHRECO, W.J.T. Mitchell, and, thus ask "does the object stare back?"

An interesting riff on the notion of looking and staring occurred in an exhibition mounted at the National Gallery (London) in 1999 for the Millennium. I saw this exhibition and was quite unaware, at the time, of its machinations. "Telling Time" explored, at bottom, the process of looking through the employ of the largest-ever eye-tracking experiment that permitted the public to observe eye-movements when looking at art. The experiment provides an unprecedented amount of data on how we look at paintings. A full report on the eye-movement traces, as recorded and reported by the University of Derby (a project collaborator) is here.

The notion of looking, however, is problematized when we consider the ways in which paintings (sculptures, and so on) differ from other art forms. Clearly, as the Daily Mail article states, art requires a different, variable amount of investment: you can choose to look at a painting, or not. This is in marked contrast to a symphony, for example, where you have committed to listen for 40 minutes or so. Consider the ways in which visual artists, art historians, and now critics have differed in their thoughts on looking. Leonardo argued that superior paintings could be viewed all at once, inclusively, whereas poetry insisted upon consecutive verses and a gradual unfolding of knowledge. Yet, the Derby research from the millennium exhibition indicates that we do not see pictures instantaneously but we come to have a general impression through focusing on thumbnail sketch-size that, when compiled, forms a general picture.

The next time you take a look at a work of art, in a gallery or museum setting, consider why you are looking. What makes you look at the work? Are you encompassing all of it in your gaze? Are you looking because you like or because you don't?

image credit: Alfred Eisenstaedt, Little girl, in tutu, looking at her dance step in mirror with teacher beside her, as printed in LIFE, 1920.

Update on sculpture for sale on Craig's List

Read it here

See our earlier post here

Department Trip to Chicago: Sign Up

The department will be going to Chicago the weekend of April 8-10. Sign ups are going on now. There is a sheet as you come in the front of the Wilson Art Building. There are currently 8 spaces left. These spots are reserved for Kappa Pi members or anyone taking an art class. However, on Friday we will open up the spots to any GC student interested in going.

The cost is reasonable:
Kappa Pi—$55
Taking Art Class—$70
Any GC Student—$80

These fees cover travel and lodging, however there will be additional costs for meals and museum entry fees that will most likely be $30+.

If you have questions, ask Daniel Graham or Darrell Kincer for more details.

See you in Chicago!

DK

Universal Design in Museums

The March/April issue of Museum, a publication by the American Association of Museums (AAM), contained an interesting article adapted from an AAM webinar:  "Going Beyond: What does Universal Design Look Like?"

The teaser line reads:  "Without a doubt, universal design and accessibility impact the exhibitions and public programs the museums produce.  But how do you integrate these principles into your exhibits and programs?" This prompted a question on my part:  What exactly is "universal design"?

The article gave a great description, along with seven principles of universal design, or, the "design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible without the need for adaptation or specialized design."  The principles include:

equity
flexibility
simplicity and intuitiveness
perceptibility
tolerance for error
comfort and efficiency
appropriateness to size and space

How museum exhibitions are used is one key to understanding whether they are designed well.  Correspondingly, to reach the broadest possible audience, and to be accessible and inclusive, considering universal design practices remains very important to the overall equation. 

If you are an art major considering museum careers, I recommend checking out the AAM and its numerous resources.  And, if you would like to see print versions of recent issues of Museum, feel free to stop by the Jacobs Gallery.      

Whale heart and artist fields

The heart in the picture above is obviously a replica, but a real blue whale heart weighs roughly 1,300 pounds; its heartbeat can be detected from two miles away and a human can fit in its arteries.

Intense. 

What does this have to do with anything.  Well I ran into an old professor recently (Michael Oliveri) who has an interesting story of how he got into the Art world.  He used to be an elevator welder and then got into a job as a fabricator for Hollywood sets. He did all the vehicles for the Batman forever movie.  How fun would it be to have on your resume that you built the Batmobile and the armor for Arnold Schwarzenegger.  One of the other most fascinating things he did he designed and built a super bowl halftime show stage.  That doesn't sound so amazing until you hear that it had to be in over 35 pieces and assembled in under a minute for the show to happen and then dissemble in under 2 minutes.  Anyhow I always use him as an example of what people do other than gallery work if they are interested in what an art degree can do for you.  I just thought of him as I came across this image above and thought about all the people it took to design and fabricate the replica.

Countdown to Linda: two weeks....

Join AHRECO (Art History Reading Group) for the journey to Louisville to hear noted art historian, Linda Nochlin, who will lecture at the U of L. Details: leave GC at 3 pm, head over to the U of L/Speed campus. Lecture at 6 pm. Those who wish can visit 21C on the way home. Hope you can join us. RSVP to Dr. Decker by noon on 3/31. Also, join the reading group that day, as we'll review Nochlin's seminal essay "Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?" All current students and alum are invited to join AHRECO that day!

Shout out to Rachel Allen

Shout out to Rachel and her students! Shout out, too, for public art!

Class of 2007 graduate, Rachel Fawcett Allen, has been awarded a Teacher Initiated Project from the KAC that provides funds for professional artists to work with teachers and students. Rachel wrote a grant to take unused wood from a tree in front of her school and transform it into public art, made by students at Frankfort Middle and High School. Students will be collaborating with artist Melanie VanHouten. Check out photos and information here. HUGE congrats to Rachel for her work as an art teacher, for taking the initiative to write the grant, and for furthering the ways in which public art can reach wide audiences.

Photo from Rachel's blog. All props and courtesies to her for use.

inky crash

A crazy expensive wreck makes a beautiful mess.  A tractor-trailer hauling industrial printer cartridges rolled over closing the ramp onto the highway for 8 hours.  No one was injured in the accident.  But I image cleanup is going to be a bear. See a short video HERE

Lecture by Designer @ NKU

Rural Decay: The Gentle Artistic Mind of Keith Neltner

Neltner shares insights on illustration, design and what it means to contribute to the visual community. E-mail nkudesignguild@gmail.com for more information. More Information:Phone: (859)391-5246 Where Otto M. Budig Theater, Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights, KY 41099 When Thursday, Mar. 24, 2011, 7 p.m.- 8 p.m.

Dark Matter & Museum Pranks

I have just finished reading "Dark Matter" by Greg Sholette, artist, activist, and collectivist. In this book, he brings attention to cultural workers and enterprise culture, offers a protracted view of artists and collectives in the U.S. and abroad, and articulates the politics of the uncategorized activity that often goes unnoticed by mainstream institutions of culture. This field of production, defined as "dark matter", refers to artistic production made and circulated without the knowledge of, or counter to, an art establishment. Sholette demonstrates how this "invisible" mass of activity and production is made and circulated in the shadows of the formal artworld. While such activity may seem invisible to art historians, critics, and curators, it seeks and attains agency while its presence becomes increasingly visible and apparent in our post-industrial society.

In thinking about this type of interventionist activity, I am reminded of the practice of "museum pranks". I insert below two events that were staged at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In the first case, the more recent activity, a group aimed to bring attention to a "regular person's" physical similarity to that of Philip IV and, secondly, to heighten awareness about the newly re-attributed work by Velazaquez. In the second, agit-prop phenomenon Banksy interrupts the installations at the Met by adding his own works to the conversation. In the first example below, the activity was not sanctioned but seems harmless; in the second, there's no sanctioning but it aims at clandestine activity.


Above: An unauthorized autograph signing in the Metropolitan Museum of Art with an actor who resembles King Philip IV of Spain. Standing in front of the 400-year-old Velázquez painting, the "King" greeted museum goer, giving them free signed 8x10 photos of himself. See an amazing recap, with photos, here.


Above: British performance artist Banksy, who has been called "the Duchamp of our century."

Question for the readers: do you think that these "museum pranks" qualify as art? If so, are they heirs of a past tradition: Or, do they break with a tradition completely, and, if so, how? Or do they forge a new path entirely? Does anyone (artists or otherwise) have the "right" to do this kind of thing? What do you think?

Chicago Trip: Sign Up!

Sign-ups for the department trip to Chicago on the weekend of April 8 will begin the week after Spring Break. Sign-up sheets will be posted in the front hall of the Wilson Art Building next to the dry-erase board.

Spaces will be available first for Kappa Pi members, then anyone taking an art class, and lastly for any Georgetown student...

Beginning Monday, March 21

Kappa Pi Members—$55

Beginning Wednesday, March 23

Any student taking an art class—$70

Beginning Friday, March 25

Any Georgetown student—$80

Sign-ups will continue until all spots are filled. The costs listed above will cover travel and lodging. There will be additional costs for food and museum fees.

Note: the trip will be submitted to the Nexus committee for potentially 4 Nexus Immersion credits.

Basic Itinerary

Friday, April 8

Leave at noon for Indianapolis Museum of Art

After visit, drive to norther Indiana for hotel.

Saturday, April 9

Take train into Chicago in the morning

Visit the Art Institute of Chicago

Lunch

Visit Museum of Contemporary Art or other galleries

Dinner, Shopping

Take train back to hotel in the evening

Sunday, April 10

Head to Dayton Art Institute

Lunch

Head back to Georgetown

See you in Chicago!

Linda Stein was here!

Thanks to visiting artist Linda Stein and participants for a great talk on Thursday evening and informal gathering on Friday morning last week.

Shawn McPeek in a grand performance!

Linda Stein with Meghan Pate in a wearable sculpture.

Linda Stein speaks (and is animated) about her work.

GC branch of Linda Stein fan club.

Lisette de Boisblanc

Taken by the Fog by Lisette de Boisblanc from Jennifer Schwartz on Vimeo.

This was one of my former students from UGA. This was her first solo show after graduation in 2010. It was basically an expansion of her of senior thesis show.  She is so nervous in her talk. She was never good with crowds. But this should be an example for you seniors of what to and not to do. ( a lot of the latter in her little talk) But great presentation of the work and pretty ambition in scale, she has about 20 of the images you see behind her in the show.

Flora and Fauna Art Competition

Great Exhibition Opportunity at the 930 Gallery in Louisville. It is FREE to enter so make sure if you can you do. I know there are a lot of you who could.

All the details and entry are HERE with a copy of them after the jump.

For those that are not familiar with the 930 it is an organization in Louisville that is a music venue, art Gallery, Church, studio space, and a floor for child development.  They do lots of community service and community programing.  Darrell and myself have exhibited there and they are wonderful to work with.


IMPORTANT DATES
Sunday, March 27 at Midnight- DEADLINE TO ENTER
Thursday, March 31 - notifications emailed
Saturday, April 23 - Opening Reception, 7-10 p.m.

Hui Chi Lee, Melissa Hall and Dobree Adams

Join me for the ARTalk@LAL:

Hui Chi Lee was born in Taiwan. She was educated in art and art therapy in the United States. She practices drawing human figure on weekly basis. She is currently a lecturer in Painting and Foundations at the University of Kentucky. See: http://www.uky.edu/FineArts/Art/lee.php

Melissa T. Hall has a B.S. in Computer Science and Mathematics and a daytime career as a programmer. She started to focus on art photography while living in Florida. Lives and works in Lexington, Kentucky. See: http://www.melissathall.com

Dobree Adams is a contemporary fiber artist, a weaver. In 2003 she began exhibiting her photographs with her tapestries. As one of the founders of the Kentucky Women's Photography Network, she is involved with a Network documentary photography project featuring the Manchester Street/Distillery District. An exhibition of her work is currently at Headley-Whitney Museum and another is scheduled for 2012 at the Lexington Central Public Library. She lives on a Kentucky River farm north of Frankfort. See: http://www.dobreeadams.com/Dobree.html

ARTalk: LAL @ Loudoun House, March 8, 7pm – 8pm | Free

More: http://www.lexingtonartleague.org/

In the next few days, please forward any impressions, thoughts or questions about the artists or the exhibition.

JR TED talk

A while ago I posted about TED Prize winner JR and about his work outside the gallery. See Original Post. As an update to that JR was brought to do a larger talk about if art could change the world.  worth the time to check out.  See Video HERE

Opportunity: Summer Internship

Summer PAID Undergraduate Internship: Camp ArtyFact

The Kentucky Historical Society (KHS) is a state agency and membership
organization that is fully accredited by the American Association of
Museums. The KHS mission is to engage people in the exploration of the
Commonwealth's diverse heritage by providing connections to the past,
perspective on the present, and inspiration for the future.

KHS has an undergraduate summer internship available with the Camp
ArtyFact program, a multidisciplinary studio arts program for students
ages five to 13.

Art For Lunch: Thursday 3/3/11 @ noon

Go on the road with Professor Daniel Graham. He's giving a linocut demo and talk at the Scott County Arts & Cultural Center. Bring your lunch and join us!

Fair Use and Copyright Free...for now

It's easy to say that a work has become so much a part of popular culture that we need not recognize its creator. This happens in advertising primarily because the medium is the message -- we are trained to recognize the green siren mermaid of Starbucks, for example. But who has given serious thought to the firm who designed that logo? Interested? Stumble onto this site.

But is this a different matter when we're dealing with fine art from the get-go? What about a photograph that serves as source material for a now-iconic print-- here, I am referring to the Che Guevara print created by Jim Fitzpatrick in 1968. While Fitzpatrick distributed that image, for free, to revolutionaries, it has become fodder for capitalism. On our campus, alone, I have seen numerous depictions in posters, t-shirts, and stickers. The image has become the symbol of revolution, rebellion, and revolt -- internationally and among more than the 20-something crowds.

Now, after allowing the image he created to be reproduced free of charge, Fitzpatrick said he intends to secure copyright and, then, transfer the rights of ownership to Guevara's family. He hopes that copyright monies will be put to good use, such as building a hospital in Cuba.

Robert C. May Photo Lecture, Friday

The last installment of the Robert C. Photography Lecture at UK is this Friday with France Scully Osterman. This lecture and work should feature traditional photographic processes, including non-silver printing methods. This might ring a bell for a few students who took the Alternative and Non-silver Photo class a few semesters back.

The lecture is at 4 PM in the Worsham Theater of the UK Student Center, located at Euclid Blvd. and Martin Luther King Blvd. The lecture is free. Osterman's work will also be on display in the UK Art Museum from now until March 13.

"Osterman is an artist, teacher, and guest scholar at the George Eastman House in Rochester, New York, and gives lectures, demonstrations, and workshops throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan. Her work is included in the collections of the Museum of Fine Art, Houston; the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography; and the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University, among others. She and her husband Mark Osterman produce The Collodion Journal, dedicated to keeping the art of wet-plate photography alive." (UK Art Museum Website)

To see more of Osterman's work, you can find her website HERE. To find out more about the May Lectures, lick HERE.

Speaking of Feminism and Art...

Don't miss Linda Stein's lecture 

this Thursday, March 3, 5:30-6:30 p.m. 

(GC NEXUS/CEP Event)

with opening reception 5-7 p.m. for 

The Fluidity of Gender: Sculpture by Linda Stein 

in the Anne Wright Wilson Fine Arts Gallery!