Featured Artist: Lorretta Lux

Loretta Lux specializes in creating photos of children that are haunting, unique, and just a little bit strange. She started out as a painter but eventually changed her medium to photography after deciding painting was "too messy." Using photoshop, Lux to alter her images until they emit a vague but tangible distance between the audience and the subjects of her portraits. Though hesitant to spell out any specific meaning that is communicated through her works, she admits that they represent childhood and the experiences/interpretations that individuals can draw from those memories.


The Paper Airplane, Photo, 2004

Lux employs a muted, pastelle color palette with no harsh light or shadow. Almost always, her subjects are children, dressed in vintage clothing and formally staged in isolated locations. Their expressions are blank, distancing themselves from their viewers. Finally, the strangest element of her work is the way she elongates their limbs, oversizes their heads and eyes, and distorts some of their features. The subjects seem to merge with their settings: backgrounds sometimes painted by Lux or taken from her photograph collection. Together, these changes make the childrean appear to be something out of a dream: realistic yet strange, unengaged, remote, and just a little bit impossible.


Study of a Boy 1, Photo, 2002

Purposefully devoid of any indicator of specific time or space, the photographs do seem to imply a sense of narrative. In The Waiting Girl, Lux depicts a girl and a cat sitting on a couch, waiting for nothing in particular. As the artist herself described, "It's a picture about time, and timelessness. The girl and the cat are frozen in time. For me, they are sitting on the sofa as if they are waiting for eternity" (http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2006/nov/23/photography).


The Waiting Girl, Photo, 2006

Other Examples of Her Work:


Hidden Rooms, Photo, 2001


Girl with Marbles, Photo 2005


The Rose Garden, Photo, 2001


The Walk, Photo, 2004



The Drummer, Photo, 2004

Historical Context Research Project

For this project, I was instructed to pick from a list of artists and address the following questions:
• How does the artist utilize material/media/found object in an art historical context, versus a contemporary context?
• How do these materials inform the meaning of the piece?
• What site was chosen for the artwork?
• How does the site/place inform the meaning of the artwork?

Historical Context in Louise Bourgeois’s Work

Louise Bourgeois’s work is distinct in both style and in subject matter. Born in 1910, she worked through many different period and movements in art until reaching fame in the 1960’s for her work with feminist art. Her first interaction with art came through helping her parents with their tapestry business where she designed missing sections of tapestries that needed to be repaired. This experience as a weaver would later influence her choice of materials and subjects for many of her pieces (Conn).

Her work is incredibly personal, exploring many themes including betrayal, anxiety, and loneliness, which stem from her childhood. Of particular influence was her relationship with her father. Though described as almost tyrannical in his expectations of discipline and strong values from his children, her father had multiple affairs including one with Bourgeois’s nanny. Bourgeois hated him for his betrayal through infidelity, “explosive temper, domination of the household, and for teasing her in front of others” (Conn).

Another extension of her father’s actions upon her artwork is the way in which she addresses sexuality and fragility in her works. Many expose double standards related to gender and sexuality, and others celebrate feminine identity and strength.

The timing of much of her work is significant. She worked in the art world for much of the 20th century, but did not gain much attention until the 1960-70’s when the feminist movement was on the rise. As described by the members of the Women’s Caucus for the Arts upon bestowing her with the Achievement in Visual Arts Award in 1980, “You [Bourgeois] say in form what most of us are afraid to say in any way. Your sculpture defies styles and movements and returns to the sources of art—to the cultural expression of communal belief and emotion” (Wye, 110).

Her work fits feminist rhetoric by addressing women’s issues, particularly those of sexuality and the female body. When Lucy Lippard, a feminist art critic and writer, described the standards that could be used to assess “women’s art” in 1973, Bourgeois met nearly all of them:

A uniform density, or overall texture, often sensuously tactile and repetitive or detailed to the point of obsession; the preponderance of  circular forms, central focus, inner space (sometimes contradicting the  first aspect); a ubiquitous linear ‘bag’ or parabolic form that  turns in on itself ; layers, strata, or veils, and indefinable looseness of  handling; windows; autobiographical content; animals; flowers; a certain  kind of fragmentation; a new fondness for the pinks and pastels and ephemeral cloud colors (Lippard).

Though Bourgeois’ work aligns perfectly with Lippard and other artists’ ideas of the feminist aesthetic, her work cannot be defined solely through that lens. “The mere choice of a certain realm of subject matter or the restriction to certain subjects is not to be equated with a style, much less with some sort of quintessentially feminine style” (Nochlin).

Bourgeois herself stated, “My feminism expresses itself in an intense interest in what women do. But I’m a complete loner. It doesn’t help me to associate with people; it really doesn’t help me. What helps me is to realize my own disabilities and expose them” (Harrison).

 Bourgeois seemed to find it impossible to separate style, medium, and subject matter. By juxtaposing “feminine” materials such as fabric and tapestry with traditionally more “masculine,” sculptural materials such as metal and stone, she erases the divide between women’s and men’s arenas and shows how characteristics that are traditionally gendered one way can be attributed to the other gender as well.  Her work expresses contradiction through utilizing materials in ways that tears away their intrinsic qualities. Hard materials become soft and vice versa (Conn).

To a contemporary audience, this juxtaposition will likely seem quite normal, but when she first began to become involved with New York’s art world, it (along with the fact that she herself was a woman) caused her to be ignored for decades. It took the feminist movement to bring respect and acknowledgement to her work.

Finally, though her works are not dependent upon their location for meaning, where her pieces have been displayed is important to note because it shows a cultural change, an acceptance of her ideas and style. Her identity and statements did not change; society did. “The first female artist to have a retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York (1967), Bourgeois surpassed the status of a highly significant and influential ‘female’ artist to become considered one of the most challenging, enigmatic, and influential forces in the contemporary art world” (Conn). That is no small feat.

Works Cited:

Conn, Cyndi, " Louise Bourgeois: Delicate Strength," PDF. http://www.launchprojects.com/IMAGES/Cyndi%20Conn%20Louise%20Bourgeois.pdf

Harrison, Charles & Paul Wood, “Louise Bourgeois (b.1911) Statements from an Interview with Donald Kuspit” Art in Theory 1900-2000. Blackwell Publishing: Malden, MA. 2003. pp. 1088-1090.

Lippard, Lucy. “Louise Bourgeois: From the Inside Out,” From the Center: Feminist
Essays on Women’s Art. New York: Dutton, 1976. p. 249

Nochlin, Linda. Women, Art and Power and Other Essays, Westview Press. 1988. p.147-158

Wye, D. The Prints of Louise Bourgeois. New York, Museum of Modern Art. 1982. 11

Featured Artist: Do-Ho Suh

Born in Seoul, Korea in 1962, Do-Ho Suh earned his BFA and MFA in Oriental Painting from Seoul National University and served in the South Korean military before relocating to the United States to continue his studies at the Rhode Island School of Design and Yale University.



Interested in both the physical and metaphorical implications of space, Suh constructs intricate sculptures that do not follow conventional ideas of scale and site-specificity in order to explore the relationships between individuality, collectivity, and anonymity in today’s increasingly global society.


Screen, 2004


Screen, 2004

Much of his work communicates its ideas through forcing the viewers to think about the way they occupy and interact with public space. For example, in his work, Floor, Suh invites his audience to walk across a thick glass floor which is supported by more than 180,000 small PVC plastic figures. A little over two inches high and cast from six-different molds, the figures were differentiated by reductive characteristics of gender and race, their legs bowed with the effort of supporting the glass plates raised above their heads. This idea of "the many" supporting the weight of "the few" easily lends itself to interpretations of class and social hierarchy. Additionally, it could also speak to the nature of what we are capable of doing collectively that would be impossible on our own.


Floor, 1997-2000


Floor, 1997-2000

In “Some/One,” the floor of the gallery is coated with a blanket of polished military dog tags that join together to construct a  traditional Korean jacket in the center of the room. The work speaks to the way an individual soldier is part of a larger, collective identity (his troop).


Some/One, 2001


Some/One, 2001

More Works:


Reflection, 2005


Cause and Effect, 2007


Staircase-V, fabric, 2008

Featured Artist: Kiki Smith

In my 107 class, we watched a video about Kiki Smith, which I found quite fascinating. Kiki Smith is known as a leading figure among artists addressing the philosophical, social, and spiritual aspects of human nature. Her work uses different mediums such as sculpture, printmaking, installation, and drawing to touch on a variety of subjects from the human body and domesticity to classical mythology and folk stories. Themes of life, death, and resurrection are common in much of her work, and she pays particular attention to the female form, portraying it with honesty and vulnerability.

Much of Smith’s work gives particular attention to portraying the human body, examining the dichotomy between our psychological and physical sides. “I think I chose it as a subject because it is the one form that we all share,” she says. “It’s something that everybody has their own authentic experience with.”


Virgin Mary, Wax, cheesecloth and wood, 1993

Smith’s work has also long focused female artists and feminist issues. "In the mid-nineties, she began to engage with themes from literature, history, and folklore, reinterpreting biblical and mythological women as inhabitants of resolutely physical bodies. More recently, her vocabulary has expanded to include animals, the cosmos, and the natural world: 'My work has evolved from minute particles within the body, up through the body, and landed outside the body. Now I want to roam around the landscape.' In pieces that merge human and animal, she creates new mythologies, finding in the mortality that has pervaded so much of her process the possibility of rebirth. In her art, Smith has staged a persistent inquiry that has resulted in works of uncommon power and beauty, inviting us to reexamine ourselves, our history, and our place in the world" (Walkerart.org).


Born, Bronze, 2002


Rapture, 2001

Death is another common theme in many of Smith's works.


Hanging Woman, 1992


Untitled, 1988


Getting the Bird Out, Bronze and string head, 1992

One of the interesting collections she talked about on the video was her work on witches. "I just got interested in thinking about witch representations; then I thought it would be nice to make a commemorative statute, for the witch burnings in Europe. I was trying to think about public art. Then I thought I would just make the public art that I would like to have. I thought to make these women on pyres. Probably also from just having a fireplace and looking at chopped wood."


Woman on  Pyre,  Bronze, 2001

Other examples:


My Blue Lake, Photogravure and lithograph on mold-made En Tout Cas paper, 1995


Pieta (detail), Lithograph on Nepalese paper and methyl cellulose, 1991


Untitled, Bronze, 2002


Blue Girl, Silicone and bronze, 1998

Anne Frank Memorial

As part of our 108 class, we were instructed to visit the Idaho Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial, which is situated near the public library in downtown Boise. Below I will describe the things I saw and some of my interpretations.

1. Describe what you see, including location (context) and physical space: The memorial is situated between two busy streets in downtown Boise; thus, you could see and hear traffic rushing past all around, which contrasted with the calm of the memorial itself. It incorporates many different elements such as stone, water, bushes, trees, grass, metal sculpture and railing, stone benches, words, quote walls, a stone bookcase, talking information boxes, and sky.

2. Describe the varying degrees of representation: There was a wide range of representation. Most representational would be the pictures that were included on the quote wall. Though two-dimensional, they are almost exact replicas of the people they represent. Also highly representational was the sculpture of Anne Frank by Greg Stone. Though perhaps the statue's features do not perfectly mimic those of Anne Frank, it is a life-size, three-dimensional piece. It's highly detailed: you could see the wrinkles in her clothes, the definition in her arms and legs, and the expression of longing in her eyes as she stands on a little chair, looking out her window. The house she hid in is represented in the shapes of the stone walls around her, but they are not perfect representations. They do not connect or have a roof overhead. Viewers must fill in details. Finally, one of the plaques pointed out lines in the cement directly behind the statue. These lines represented the room in which she hid for two years (16' 8" long x 6' 9" wide). Though minimally representational, they give the viewers a foundational idea with which they can imagine the rest of the room.

3. What are visual elements/principles that dominate in the memorial? The visual element I noticed most was the juxtaposition of geometric and natural shapes. Stone was used prominently throughout the piece. Sometimes it was left in its natural state (such as in the water feature), and other times it was manipulated to become a part of a wall or bench. Circles seem to be a dominating shape; the arrangement of stone benches around the statue and both quote walls were circular. That repetition gave the piece unity.

4. Is this memorial "site-specific"? Explain: Yes and no. On one hand, the material of the memorial is universal. It represents and idea, a celebration of human spirit, human rights, and freedom. The memorial could just as easily be located in New York or (considering the focus on Anne Frank) the Netherlands. However, it is site-specific in that the memorial's overall layout was designed to compliment the space in which it was located. Its size and shape were designed for the specific area between 9th and Capital.

5. Who created, designed and funded this memorial? I did not see the creator's or designer's names while at the memorial, but I was able to look them up online. Kurt Karst, an Idaho Falls architect, designed the space; the Idaho Human Rights Education Center built the memorial and donated it to the city in 2002, and many people funded the memorial, though perhaps most impressive was the large donation from Idaho schoolchildren.

6. What materials/media were used to create this memorial? Stone was heavily utilized in the walls, benches, and water feature. Metal was used as both an accent on some of the walls and as the highlight of the memorial: the statue of Anne Frank. Though most of the media was visual, there were audio elements as well through the use of hand-cranked, talking boxes.

7. How does the text/word elements function? The text draws viewers' eyes in and becomes a focus point. It is the main source of communication in the memorial. The serif typeface is simple, allowing it to focus solely on the ideas it presents and not on the look or visual appeal of the text. I believe the purpose of the text was to create a unifier between people and cultures. The quote walls feature words from people from all different countries and time periods, connected by a single idea: human rights.

8. Reflecting on your answers to the previous questions, what do you think was the intended meaning/function? Explain what is communicated: I suspect that the memorial's serves a dual function. On one hand, its meaning is purely as is stated in the verbage (on both the website and in the memorial itself). It promotes respect for human dignity and diversity and fosters individual responsibility to work for justice and peace. The second function, I believe, is to be a statement to the rest of the country and the world that Idaho is not entirely intolerant and backwards-thinking. Due to the large population of white supremacists in northern Idaho, the entire state tends to get a bad rap. This memorial works to show that we do not agree with such sentiments.

9. In your opinion, how successful is this memorial? Explain: I found the memorial to be quite touching. Some of the quotes, like the excerpt from a 1994 letter by Tutsi pastors to their Hutu church president, were horrifyingly sad. "We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families." It's a simple statement, no dramatic language, no outright accusations. Perhaps that's what makes it so powerful. Overall, I found the space to be an excellent place for reflection.

I'm a little surprised at the location. In some ways, it seems disrespectful to place it in such an area that traffic constantly buzzes around. On the other hand, it is a prominent location. I see it everyday when I commute to school. It is a constant reminder to the public of what we collectively support. And we need that reminder. As one of the quotes from the wall said, "None who have always been free can understand the terrible fascinating power of the hope of freedom to those who are not free." ~Pearl S. Buck.

Finally, the materials chosen were perfect. Stone in particular has connotations of permanence. By literally setting the quotes in stone, the creators of the memorial are communicating that these ideas are universal and permanent. Human beings will always deserve the right to freedom.

Featured Artist: Su Blackwell

Since the altered book project, I've become really interested in the artform and have been researching different artists and methods of alteration. One of my absolute favorite book sculptors I've come across is Su Blackwell.


Jorinde and Jorindel, Book Pages, 2010
Blackwell's work is predominantly in altering books, though she has some interesting works made from old nightgowns and curtains. Her works take a traditionally 2D medium (usually paper) and make it 3D. Sometimes the effect is subtle, such as in her piece, The Extasie, where the two figures are fairly flat, yet by standing up out of the book and by being placed at different sections of the pages, a sense of depth is created. Other times, she creates a true 3D sculpture using the book pages, such as in The Hazel Tree.

 
The Extasie, Book pages, 2006


Hazel Tree (from Aschputtel), Book pages, 2010

Many of her works depict fairy-tales or folk-tales. Often her characters are young girls, symbols of childhood innocence, vulnerability, and curiosity. The nature of her characters reflects Blackwell's medium. Her characters are delicate yet often set into precarious positions, dangerous, or at the very least, ominous. Similarly, books hold a precarious place in society. On a physical level, their pages too are delicate; they can be ripped, burned, written over. But more than that, the ideas they wish to communicate are fragile; easily are their words forgotten. When Blackwell cuts away at pages, she is simultaneously destroying and creating, which is an interesting concept. It is symbolic of the way changes in life or in thought essentially end one existence but give birth to another.


Pandora Opens Box, Book pages, 2009

In Pandora Opens Box, we can see a prime example of delicate figures in an ominous situation. I love how the light emanating from the box creates a more intimate setting within the piece that couldn't be achieved through any other form of lighting. The thick canopy of trees balance out the heavy book base and create a void in the center where the girl and box can become the piece's focus. The piece is unified by the use of a singular medium and by its subtle color scheme.


Alice, A Mad Tea Party, Book paper, 2007

I love this piece because the scale of the elements says so much about the scene. Here, front and center, is little Alice, alone and tiny in this big new world. Perhaps it is just because I'm familiar with the story, but to me, it feels as though Alice has entered into something that is "too big" for her, unfamiliar.

Here are a few more examples of her work. OMG amazing.


The Quiet American, Book paper, 2005


The Grass Grows Between Her Toes, 2010


The Children's Study, Installation at the Bronte Parsonage Museum, 2010

Midterm!

For our midterm, we were assigned to create sculptures out of either soap or spam. Soap represented subtractive sculpture, which is when you take away part of an element to create the sculpture (like carving wood or stone). Spam, on the other hand, represented additive sculpture: the process of building up an object (like working with clay). You can add or take away from it as much as you'd like; the medium is much more malleable.

I chose soap, mostly because the thought of working with spam was rather unappealing, but started encountering problems as I carved. Eventually, I had marred my soap so much that it became unsalvageable. So what to do? Either I could start over with new soap or try something different.

Finding out that Ivory soap puffs in the microwave, I nuked my fragments until they puffed into huge clouds of foamy soap. Then, I crushed the foam and mixed with a little water, kneading until I achieved a very crumbly paste. Finally I started sculpting!

It was kind of fun turning a traditionally subtractive medium into an additive one, but in the end, my frog started crumbling pretty badly. As he dried, the legs started to break away from his body, and at one point he lost an eyeball. I was able to moosh him back together with a bit of softened soap, but let's just say the car ride to school was not a happy event....

My Fail Frog!