and the whale.
I watched it again tonight. I can’t really explain why it is important to me, but it is. Besides being an amazing narrative it is also beautifully shot which is what inspired me to pause it and take some well timed screenshots.
These images are not square but Wordpress crops them in this gallery format. Click to enlarge.
→ No CommentsTags:Digital·divorce·Noah Baumbach·Screen shots·The Squid and the Whale·Uncategorized
I was assigned to create a “creativity journal” for fine art photography class. Usually I find these assignments kind of dull unless you decide to really invest in it. Therefore I have decided to invest time and energy in it and use it as a place to make stupid things, smear paint and write down what I am thinking. I also just got my photo printer up and running again so I have easy access to creating color prints, whether it be things I find on the internet or my own random pictures. I usually dismiss printing these things because of time, money, or a sense that it is”a waste of time” or not serious enough. When what is really a waste of time is having these thoughts. I am definitely my own worst critic and I often edit my ideas and actions before they even come to fruition. Anyway, here are some silly pages from my new notebook.
→ No CommentsTags:experimentation·journal·school assignment·Uncategorized
The MCA’s “The one hundred and sixty-third floor: Liam Gillick Curates the Collection” was AMAZING! It was great to see this after my class on conceptual art as well as my museums class that discussed alternative exhibition techniques. Gillick chose objects from the MCA collection and displayed them in the salon format in mostly alphabetical order. The text panels were pulled from archive texts at the MCA that did not correlate with the image presented. The exhibition encouraged the viewer to create their own interpretations and connections. It reminded me of Fred Wilson’s “Mining the Museum” though perhaps without as much racial and cultural commentary.
“Italics: Italian Art between Tradition and Revolution 1968–2008″ was really exciting new (to me) work. I also got a chance to go by the Art Institute and see the new exhibitions. I have now been to this museum every few months and I was really impressed by how strong their rotating exhibitions were and how much there was to see despite my familiarity with the museum. I also felt differently walking through after what I have learned in the last quarter. It definitely alters my viewpoint and I have developed new tastes and understanding.
There was a small Irving Penn tribute that I am sure will later turn into a much more extensive retrospective exhibition as they possess many of his prints as well as correspondence, files and contact sheets. I would love to see an exhibition featuring contact sheets and the corresponding final prints.
“Playing with Pictures: The Art of Victorian Photocollage” turned out to be much more interesting than I thought it would be. These forefathers to photographic manipulation and scrap-booking were filled with humor and personality. The often meticulously crafted pages turned out to be much more than the doodling of idle women living a life of luxury.
I didn’t buy any post cards though I should have. I hate museum stores, they make me feel like a yuppy. One day they will have a starbucks inside a museum store and then I will spontaneously combust.
So, leaving Chicago on the train tonight, back at school/work/class tomorrow. Love you, see you soon.
Page three and I already want to quote it.
“Purity. Serenity. Simplicity. Seclusion. All one’s concentration and flamboyance and originality reserved for the grueling, exalted, transcendent calling. I looked around and I thought, this is how I will live.”(Zuckerman discussing the living conditions of a literary mentor.)
→ No CommentsTags:Philip Roth·Quotes·The Ghostwriter·Uncategorized
Finals at RIT have finished and tomorrow night I am hopping on the train for eleven hours to go spend my week off in Chicago. I am excited to get away as well as run around the city and see some art and meet some people. I have been taking a class for the last eleven weeks called Museums and Collecting in which we discussed in-depth aspects of museums from public education, curation, funding, and the future of these institutions. We also made many field trips to the small museums of Rochester. It was exciting when Chicago museums came up in class and I felt familiar with the discussions because I went to many of them this summer. This class got me really excited about looking at these public structures in a different light and possibly be more appreciative of the underlying complexities.
Things of interest to me
Art Insititute of Chicago – Irving Penn: A Tribute, Konstantin Grcic: Decisive Design, On the Scene: Jason Lazarus, Wolfgang Plöger, Zoe Strauss, and more of course including spending more time in the Modern Wing.
Museum of Contemporary Photography – Reversed Images: Representations of Shanghai and Its Contemporary Material Culture
Chicago MCA – Liam Gillick: Three perspectives and a short scenario as well as Artists in Depth: Liam Gillick, Jenny Holzer, Donald Judd, Sol LeWitt that puts Liam Gillick’s work into a historical context of contemporaneous artists as well as preceding works. AND! Italics: Italian Art between Tradition and Revolution 1968–2008
I am particularly excited about stopping by Zolla/Lieberman to see Garrett Durant’s Weighting Days. I met Garrett when I was living in Chicago and I really enjoy his work and am excited to see him getting a show at a gallery like Zolla/Lieberman.
(P.S. This is one of my favorites)
I would be glad to hear any other suggestions of shows going on while I am in town Monday through Sunday.
→ No CommentsTags:Chicago·exhibitions·Garrett Durant·MCA·RIT·SAIC·Uncategorized·Zolla/Lieberman
Ok, wordpress and I kind had a messy break-up and I was giving it the silent treatment. Why? Because I got hundreds of spam comments, (also, I was unsure I had anything interesting to say). So, today I decided I did have something to say so I tidied up things around here. I downloaded a spam plugin so hopefully that will help me avoid the various creative methods people have of trying to sell viagra through my blog, and I deleted everything. Sidenote: Don’t they know like 10 of my friends and my Dad read this? None of them want Viagra. Stop trying.
New News:
School is kicking my ass. Which is exactly what I needed. This summer was excellent but I was stuck with no creative outlet and confused about picking up a camera. In the fine art photo program at RIT we are trained in a very formulaic process. Pick a concept, start a project that can produce images for critique weekly, Work for ten weeks and then make final images. Obviously there are pros and cons to every academic method, but stepping out of this structure after a year left me unable to photograph recreationally anymore. Talking with my roommate Nikki we realized we are in such a competitive atmosphere that we have become afraid to recreationally photograph at the risk of taking a bad one. Just shooting like an 18 yr old again is healthy, its like a sketchbook or doodles for a painter as well as a means of documenting our lives. In school we get so busy and overwhelmed but I think it is still important to photograph our surroundings and experiences, if only for ourselves.
I have started a new series of photographs documenting the libraries of Rochester, NY. I am excited about photographing again and I am having fun with it. Fall quarter is almost over and then in less than a week I get on the train to head back to Chicago. I am really excited to go back to my pseudo-home.
Plans for thanksgiving break:
Tour SAIC?
museums
meet some people, talk about art
read a fiction book
update my website with the beginning of the new series
cook real food for the first time in about 2 months
Summer 2009 in Chicago.
I moved in with my boyfriend that I have never lived in the same state as, started an internship and shockingly managed to find a job for the time that I was here. The summer: it worked; everything worked, despite stress and frustrations. I am content and in love and happy (I know, happy people, so boring). I have managed to spend my summer drinking beers, reading books, riding bikes, working, and having time to cook lavish meals in between. Returning to the madness of my last year of school is going to be kind of jarring, I have a heavy load of heavy courses and a job to maintain, but without stress I get nothing done anyway. I am getting very excited to see all of the people I love in Rochester and move in to my new apartment. I have two more weeks here which includes my brother visiting me on the 20th. I am excited to get someone here to tour around Chicago and force to go to nice dinners with me. It shall be a good two weeks, I proclaim! I demand!
P.S. I bought a record player. I listened to In Rainbows on vinyl. I had an orgasm.
I have been feeling unsure lately as to what the purpose or role of my Wordpress is. I enjoy sharing things with the ‘internet world’ and like to be able to update the friends and family that read this. The problem is that I have almost created too serious of a venue for me to be myself. Or maybe not quite that extreme. It just feels like a place to write well thought out interesting informative blog posts, and lets be honest, those are not just pouring out of me at all times! I am going to give Tumblr a try because I often see things I want to share but do not have the time or energy to write something to introduce or dissect the information/images I have found. Plus, sometimes I find stupid things, and we all want to see and share those too! I don’t know we will see how it goes… howcouldiknow.tumblr.com.
Oh plus, today is my day off, so I’m gonna chill on the internet.
Obama spoke on July 14 at Macomb Community College in Warren, Michigan.
“Now, since this recession began 20 months ago, 6.5 million Americans have lost their jobs, and I don’t have to tell you Michigan in particular has been hard-hit. Now, I — the statistics are daunting. The whole country now, the unemployment rate is approaching 10 percent. Here in Michigan, it’s about five points higher. And new jobs of course are going to be coming out and we’re going to see continuing job loss even as the economy is beginning to stabilize.Now, that’s not just abstractions. Those just aren’t numbers on a page. Those are extraordinary hardships, tough times, for families and individuals who’ve worked hard all their lives and have done the right things all their lives. If you haven’t lost a job, chances are you know somebody who has: a family member, a neighbor, a friend, a coworker. And you know that as difficult as the financial struggle can be, the sense of loss is about more than just a paycheck, because most of us define ourselves by the work we do. That’s part of what it means to be an American. We take pride in work — that sense that you’re contributing, supporting your family, meeting your responsibilities. People need work not just for income, but because it makes you part of that fabric of a community that’s so important. And so when you lose your job, and when entire communities are losing thousands of jobs, that’s a heavy burden, that’s a heavy weight.”
Poignant as usual. I had to read Obama’s Democratic National Convention speech from 2004 for speech class when I was at CSCC. We have a president who’s speeches we will study and research for decades.
→ No CommentsTags:Michigan·Obama·president·Uncategorized·Warren
While my new job can be a little frustrating (especially when I am alone and making breakfast sandwiches for an entire family), it has given me the chance to meet some cool people. It is also my only chance to be a social being since I don’t really know anyone in Chicago, which may be why I am occasionally terribly awkward at being social at work. Anyway, I saw the woman who told me about the Underground Library, and it turns out she is the founder. Next step, she is opening one in LA! Then later I asked a somewhat regular who was working on comics to tell me about his work. I later looked up his website and took a look at more of his drawings. Really awesome work Aaron, nice to meet you! Ooh, I also met a barista at New Wave Coffee who had been to Java’s in Rochester. That made me happy, I don’t know why.
I made vegan blueberry corn muffins tonight. You are jealous, they are delicious. (Also, I lied they are not vegan due to two tablespoons of yogurt.)
