Updates Updates Updates

Time is flying by and I feel like the end will be here before I know it!  I've been keeping busy and hardly have time to update my CRJ but here are somethings I am working on:

First show- The Snake River Valley art show at Hemming Village did their awards night and reception to recognize the 'Best of Show' and the show's opening.  Usually there is a guest speaker and a fancy reception with refreshments and mingling but of course that was off the table.  They shared a zoom link for the awards and opening celebration and I planned on watching until I received a text asking me to join the live session!  They didn't say anything else but I assumed that was because I was receiving an award of some sort.  They were careful of social distancing and asked that everyone except the musicians and speaker wear a mask.

The event was laced with an amazing string quartet and even thought they had technical difficulties at the beginning the live YouTube went off without a hitch.  You can see a recording of the event here:




The guest speaker was the talented Kimball Geisler who specializes in Plein art painting:

http://www.kimballgeisler.com

The show accepted two pieces that had to be framed with wire hangers, and no artist statement.  As I prepared which images to share and how to print them I was a little discouraged because I feel it is the collection together, with the artist statement that brings full meaning to the images themselves.  I printed two large prints but was only happy with one of them. 

Then I had the idea to create a 'mini' show in one print where I hung images as if they were family polaroids.  I printed it and framed it as well and decided to through my hat in with one of the large prints and the mini display.  I named the mini display House For Seven; Quarantine Familymontage. Here they are ready to go: 

They recognize seven pieces in the professional division, with a cash prize for the top three :
1st place- $1000
2nd place- $750
3rd place- $500
Merit Award (2)- $100
Honorable Mention(2)- Certificate only.


The competition is pretty tight with multiple mediums competing against each other.  But I must have made the right selection choice because my mini display earned me third place with a $500 cash prize!! The top two places were both oil paintings.  

I have also been scrambling to get my images ready for the other more 'homespun' and eclectic show happening in July.  These shows are a bit early for my project timeline but with the restrictions of COVID-19 I was lucky they were happening at all, and that I would be included.  Our local Arts Council have been amazing to recognize the benefits of art during this time.  

Looking at the space I had offered I had a few ideas. I'm not a 'cut and paste' person.  I get too stuck on the process itself and have a hard time relating the scale to real life.  Since I work with imagery in photography I decided to do a few digital mock-ups as that makes more sense to my brain.  Here is the space I have offered to me (more specifically the wall only): 

My first idea was to try framed enlargements:

This would work if I was allowed some extra space for easels.   This arrangement is aesthetically pleasing but I feel doesn't fit the genre or 'flavor' of the show.  Frames were much more appropriate for the other event.  Also they can't guarantee me the extra space for the easels as they are still collecting displays.   

Next I tried wire/clips to hang unframed prints:

This is more fitting for the show, but again I would be limited to 9 images displayed or adjust to smaller images. With social distancing and the way they are planning the display it isn't very conducive to people getting up and close to my images so - the bigger the better in this case.

I finally decided if I am looking for large images in limited space- a projector show might be the answer!  So I am currently working on a video loop that would project my project as single large and evolving images on the wall space offered me.  This would match the eclectic flavor of the show and allow my images to be seen.  I also think they will be very effective at that size.  I am also working on a 1 minute sound bite to accompany the images to really draw people in, and I am also allowed a printed artist statement that will be displayed to the side.  

Phew- I am exhausted.  This summer life with work/school/kids home is trying and I feel like I am running a marathon on a treadmill but I am pleased with the progress I am making and feel fulfilled in the artwork I am producing.  

Meeting with the Curator

I have appreciated that even with the COVID-19 restrictions and concerns, our extremely awesome City Arts Council has successfully nudged a launch of two opportunities for art shows in the areas. 

Each show is polar opposites in design, venue and execution, and will adapt for social distancing and other COVID-19 regulations. 

The first is a 20 day show that is sponsored by the Hemming Family Foundation in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce and Upper Valley Art Guild. The venue is the posh Hemming Village Atrium and targets the visual artists of the Snake River Valley.  The show exhibits a variety of mediums but pieces are required to be framed with wire hangers.  They accepted two of my prints, which I framed per regulation of the show. Typically there is a formal reception with a guest artist speaker, where recognitions of top submissions are acknowledged.  This year will be different, of course.  No live reception, though there will still be an online YouTube speaker. They do not arrange items by artist but prefer a random showing so your items must be able to stand alone in their work.  Also there are titles but no artist statements.  

http://atrium-weddings.com

The second opportunity is more eclectic and homespun and also more of a pop-up show variety.  Sponsored by the local cultural arts director this show will be only two days, and take place in the downtown historic tabernacle building.  This show will specifically feature art created during the COVID-19 isolation of 2020, and my work has been invited to participate.  Artists will be involved in installation and artist statements are encouraged.

Here is a shot inside the Tabernacle:

Yesterday I had the opportunity to meet with the curator of the show, Jed Platt, to look at the space and where he would like my section.  He is planning on possible dividers and tables as the show is open to a variety of installations.  But he was hoping to offer me this section of wall for my House for Seven images:

I accepted.  I think it is open to a variety of ways they could be displayed and he has left the design open up to me.  

After looking through my website he was drawn to my other project, The Teddy Bear Project of COVID-19.  He said that he had been hoping for some kind of collection that could be somehow displayed among the pews- but as it is such an awkward space he wasn't sure what would work there. But at the same time he didn't want to leave it dead space either.  He thought the addition of my images with a 'bear hunt' theme would be perfect.  So now I am working on that as well.  Here is the space: 

With all that is going on in the world I am glad there will be this moment of distraction.  The arts must go on!

Everyday Collision and the Collages of Andrew Brown

I was very excited to view Andrew Brown's work and his series of black and white composites.  Both the Roding Riviera - reflections as well as his Neuropolis work. I relate and am informed by Andrew's work as he mentioned the images expressing meeting divers needs and ever-changing environment.  In a case study interview with Falmouth University he uses the phrase, "collision of everyday activity," (2020) and using the channel mixing with the collages to explore the interaction of the changing built environment with the natural environment.

Fig. 1: Brown 2020.

Fig. 2: Brown 2019.

"In making my images, I have sought to create a lyrical response to the developments, in the poetic sense of a personal, emotional response to a particular place at a particular time as opposed to a narrative approach, which attempts to give an analytic account over time or across settings, or to 'tell a story'" (Brown 2020)

This will help me identify my own crisis points with my work, though the settings and objects of my images are very different. How do I give meaning to my own visual narrative of the divers needs of my family life and the everyday collision of quarantine. 

Figure 1. Andrew BROWN. Roding Riviera- reflections. [online] available at: https://atomised.co.uk/roding-riviera-reflections

Figure 2. Andrew BROWN. Neuropolis. [online] available at: https://atomised.co.uk/neuropolis

BROWN, Andrew. 2020. Interviewed by Dr. Wendy McMurdo on Case Study: Andrew Brown by Falmouth University. [online] Available at: https://falmouthflexible.instructure.com/courses/469/pages/case-study-andrew-brown?module_item_id=39279 [accessed 17 June 2020].

BROWN, Andrew. 2020. Critical Review of Practice. [online] Available at: https://falmouthflexible.instructure.com/courses/469/pages/case-study-andrew-brown?module_item_id=39279 [accessed 17 June 2020]. 

1-2-1 Metting 5 With Dr. Wendy McMurdo

Fig. 1: Slade 2020.

These meetings are always productive and fast!  Dr. McMurdo saw progress in my new images, that have resulted in my weeks of experimenting, revising and rethinking.  

She recommended a few other artists to research and also a recent Falmouth conference to watch to help further my work.  We talked about working figuratively and how black and white is a huge jump for me as my previous work is literally typically bursting with color.  

She encouraged that I continue producing work which I was already planning as I don't feel the collection is yet complete (are collections ever 'complete'?) and that I start experimenting printing on different paper and with different scale framing etc.  And also start looking toward a paragraph explaining my work and also the start of my critical review of practice.  

I have to say I am a bit relieved as I have been enthusiastic about how this project is progressing.  It has been a big change and I feel stretched in my skills but I think the results are fruitful. 




Figure 1. Bren SLADE. 2020. House for Seven.  Available at: https://www.brenslade.com/houseforseven

Printed!

Idaho Family Magazine is a free magazine with a 20,000 printed distribution and an online edition as well.  Super pleased with how it turned out, and a mention on the cover too! Page 7.

https://idahofamilymagazine.com

Thinking Different with Alexandra Lethbridge

Alexandra Lethbridge believes in experimental image making with the results of getting you to think differently (Bhardwaj 2019). 

Fig. 1: Lethbridge 2018. 209 Women. 

Her images are conceptual and often hold themes such as visual truth and misinformation (Lethbridge 2020). She has a variety of methodologies but photo collage or montage is definitely one of them.  Unlike Lorenzo Vitturi who's collages represent the essence of the space they came from, Alexandra's works leaves you thinking about the space that is in between. 


BHARDWAJ, Akshit. 2019. 'Woman Crush Wednesday: Alexandra Lethbridge.' Musee. [online] Available at: https://museemagazine.com/culture/2019/01/02/woman-crush-wednesday-alexandra-lethbridge [accessed 6 June 2020].

LETHBRIDGE, Alexandra. 2020. About Alexandra Lethbridge. [online] Available at: https://www.alexandralethbridge.com/about/ [accessed 6 June 2020].

Figure 1. Alexandra LETHBRIDGE. 2018. 209 Women. [online] Available at: https://www.alexandralethbridge.com/works/ [accessed 6 June 2020].

Lorenzo Vitturi Shapes and Contrast

Lorenzo Vitturi is a photographer and sculpture and started as a cinema set painter (Flowers).  You can see this influence his work as his images seem to contain both set and a sculpture style performance. 

Fig. 1: Vitturi, 2017, Praying Mat Fragments, Egg and Blue.

His art has an edgy dynamic and he is master of carrying across his vision of the space and energy his images represent.  This can inform my own work even though my collection is lacking color, I can learn a lot through the way Vitturi uses contrast, background and items from the space he represents.  






Figure. 1: Lorenzo VITTURI. 2017. Praying Mat Fragments, Egg and Blue. [online] Available at: https://www.flowersgallery.com/artists/162-lorenzo-vitturi/works/162078-lorenzo-vitturi-praying-mat-fragments-egg-and-blue-2017/ [accessed 6 June 2020].


FLOWERS, 'Lorenzo Vitturi,' Flowers, [online] Available at: https://www.flowersgallery.com/artists/162-lorenzo-vitturi/ [accessed 6 June 2020].