czech out these!!!

http://www.sarahsze.com/

http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/stockholder/index.html#

and


http://www.judypfaff.org/

I write to understand ...

....random ridiculous rambling
As an illusory image portrayal of moving changing light in which one can be engaged i feel as though it has successfully evoked a particular feeling/emotion.... And not one that was far from the original intention... Ceci n'est pas un Rorschach card..... interest lies in giving viewers an experience... giving them a fictional experience where the extraneous details are left out, you dont know the characters or their circumstance ... each one is to ground it -being what they are seeing- in perhaps a memory they have of a situation in which a similar feeling/emotion was felt or one in which they could sympathize... perhaps giving visual cues or stimulus to trigger a response for the mind to body etc to feel... engaging an inner dialogue/thought...we are empathic beings... (is that why i apologize to walls when i bump into them? )...

....inner insane insight
in terms of the medium ... video ... a very detached participation... you do not control how you see what you are looking at or from what angle... you cannot walk around it and see how it was glued soldered nail gunned and welded to make it stand ... the viewer is forced to see visually from my perspective of this false environment.... it is interesting because from the time it starts and then finishes, the viewer has lost their time to experience something physical... it is interesting to watch someone watch something ...especially when they are interested... and even when you yourself experience that... and time just slips away (see flow theory) ... time... the essence of video... which you are no longer aware of ...

...hmmm
the idea of a video and the process of watching it and that physical detachment but yet inner attachment in which you become what you are watching is really interesting... its weird i feel as if people can feel like they are in what ever they are seeing or perhaps mentally become a apart of this environment ... flow- maybe because of their intense energy focused at this thing -is achieved... perhaps ... unaware of body and surrounding ....

its a paradox .. because i really like materials and things.. and want to incorporate the two... especially if they have this relationship where one is dependent on the other and the experience is contingent on two parts working together... so eventually .. but i dont want to force too many things together .. and just start projecting on everything just because i can ... or maybe i do ?

Arts shots from beneath n detailz

Its ALIVE!!!!

Ahhh these are not as good as they ended up looking ... so mad i didnt get shots of them in 'full bloom'... adding armatures and more fishing line i pumped up the volume... but too many ppl the get good shots... more to come 

Velcomins

pain is only a pulse

Compare the left to the right pointer and thumb! ... thats what happens when you sew as much as I !!!!!! ps. its worse than it appears... shitty macbook photobooth...

dress trois

Flatland

Can be read HERE!!!!

Delanda on Deleuze

This lecture (in 8 parts) is incredible and amazing and some of the things he says i have found myself previously thinking...
I love when you hear someone say something and you are like "I KNOW, RIGHT!!!! Exactly what I have been saying/thinking"

The itch!

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/06/30/080630fa_fact_gawande?currentPage=all

Held together by tape

Composed of solidifed acryllic house paint... and thread... currently held together by long strings of painters tape until i have it completely sewn and stable ... the last photo is of a plethora of pre primes canvas strips with white paint drips and polyurethane to strike up a nice material conversation!!!!

folding and cutting

you know when you fold a piece of paper and then cut out the shape... maybe the shape of a person and then it turns out to be a bunch of people holding hands....



I used the shape of a dress... (strapless)

and when i unfolded it created this nice barrier that curved into itself creating a small space...

Im interested in how i could materialize this ... i like this space and would like to project onto it and the individual dresses and then the dresses collectively... or perhaps ... what if the negative space created the outline of a dresss... or continuously grew

Light (weight), transparent, reflective, and light passes through it

To reiterate ..."Light (weight), transparent, reflective, and light passes through it "

That is the kind of materials I am really attracted to...
So i have a bunch of these transparency sheetss i obtained at a garage sale a couple years ago for a $
...while playing around with them i noticed that were great at reflecting and obscuring/abstracting the image it reflected...

SOme examples



** notice the keyboard =)

DeLanda 2008 Lecture

Can be found in 9 parts on YouTube 

part 1.

The Abstract Machine

I am in a mad pursuit to figure out what exactly this abstract machine is and how it functions. For back ground... it is the way in which everything i see, hear, think, experience, etc.  becomes amalgamated and abstracted, it is the sort of lens in which my world is constructed out of, and it is why I do and make the things I do... (reworded into my own from Lance)

Psychoanalysis...

i will take the top down approach for now...

SO... as per my diverse range of interests and fascinations we have loosely deciphered that all the things i have thus far been mentioning and thinking about have underlying similarities... thinking about other work i have made as well.... 

it appears that my machine digs systems, structures, and multiples

The above, stated all encompassing which will provide to enhance, connect, and speak more clearly about my work... 

More closely it is this assigning of meaning to things (words/different languages spoke and visual)... 

so i like words... (facetious, deprecated, maelstrom, monolithic, they are fun)... 

I also enjoy water... the color the texture its properties as a light reflective clear liquid medium... I really like clear or reflective materials that can take the image of something and make its own version of it ... translation...(perhaps what is lost in any translations/interaction/from person to person/material to material)... Ontology... how a reality is constructed... how we contrive our realities... the truth is our reality which is really not universally true because it is contrived and constructed some how fashioned and tailored to fit our ...perhaps abstract machine.... i like making connections even if they are only related by something small and obscure... 

Artists I REALLY like! (in order of importance and influence)

Marcel Duchamp 

Francis Picabia 

Pipilotti Rist 

Eva Hesse

Matthew Ritchie

BIll Viola 

Janet Cardiff & George Burres Miller 

Olaffur Elliason 

Jenn Dalton 

Evelyn Glennie (deaf percussionist) 

 

Resourcessssssss

Artists dealing with Architecture... Psycho Building: artists take on architecture is the exhibition

--> there is a sweet video at the bottom of the page (

• -Artists dealing with the structure of the Hayward Museum in honor of its 40th anniversary 
  
• -experience that deals with all the senses and how we experience space \
  
• - artists play with architectural structure and language 
  
• -Explosions... air port city...Memory... Olfactory.. suspending a moment

My Favorite::: Fog FROG.... 

• ********and using cloves and dealing with the olfactory !!!! SMELL Is the most primordial sense that is experienced in the back of the brain in close proximity to the spinal cord... it the only sense that has i believe 54 neural sensory receptors (the eyes have ONLY 4!!!) ... and it less likely to be Abstracted!!!!!! It is the Most REAL and HUMAN!!!!! .. your hearing and seeing occurs in the prefrontal cortext approximately the forehead area and is subjected to Abstraction!!!!!!!
  
• http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/visual-arts/hayward-exhibitions/psycho-buildings/exhibition
  

SKIN AND BONES  !!!!!

(need to print this... Its hard to read via Online... plus you loose something within the experience without that tactility...)

http://www.somersethouse.org.uk/documents/skinbones_exhibition_guide.pdf

Library

*** Dick Hebdige - Street clothing 

***Deleuze - 1,000 plateaus

*** (find something on hyperbolic planes!!!!!!)

Exploration in fractals

things to think about !!!!!!

- androgyny (does it need to be tailored for a gender ... why should girls have to wear dresses... )

- should a real body fit into this? why not multiple 'pant legs"

... why not pant legs that exponentially grow ... or maybe sleeves?(my good friend fibonacci)

-fractals are cool 

... use standard "dress"/"body contours" as the shapes for fractals?! 

..am i trying to prove we are geometric maybe (rigid... the same.. matheimatical?)

 ... or maybe people think that we are (sizes 00-0-1-3-5-7-9-11-13-etc(is there anythign bigger?)

 ...maybe this sequence means something?!)

 ... standardized sizes are we our sizes?! we become a number?! 

.. maybe my clothes should be made to fit these numbers!!!!

Ruttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To paraphrase Krauss:

"fashion can never be art because of the commercial aspect, with american copyright laws not allowing for reproduction"

"American law priviledged function and use, and it therefore failed to recognize in dresses the intellectual property rights developed for works of art as products of the mind. instead of reinforcing Poiret's claim to authorship as an artist, the law recognized only his right to commercial trademark protection of his couture label, and as we shall see it compelled him to acknowledge that his name signified his status as a businessman, not a fine artist." 

------------------------

Pointless rambling and thinking: 

what if other artists become the label --because sometimes it seems that their name has ensured their status (though still they are seem as producers of things or thing are produced under them) what if "pollock" brand clothes ensured that it was legit... though (who the F*@k is jackson pollock) proves that ...hmmm..welll... rigorous testing is underwent to ensure that it is legit art .. and that only the high class can have a real important piece of art work... ::ELITIST?!:: if i made a line of dresses and their label was the artists name... then it would be art about art and artifice... im not sure if i want that...

What does it mean for you to have a designed thing --> financial you have the means for it and you must flaunt it i guess... and that you know what's fashionable (what does that word even mean ?!)

-what if art was created under the guidelines of whats fashionable ... (i think that happens already).. ok so.... what am i doing ... Preserving integrity ... HOW?! by one person grueling over it ... maybe someone will just be able to appreciate the rigors of ones pains and labors?.. probably not .... we'll seeeeeeeeee

Tedious Sewing

I have spent the last two weeks incessantly printing, cutting 1.5 in and 2 in strips, and sewing them into various sized looped strips... I have no more strips so i am currently printing more paper to cut and sew... this is what the whole voluminous skirt will be comprised of! 

Negativland, Culture Jammers, and the infringement festival

CULTURE JAMMING

A resistance movement based on the production of counter-culture. The term was coined by the band Negativland in 1984. Kalle Lasn's 1999 book "Culture Jam" helped popularize the movement.

To culture jam is to make a cultural comment on a cultural artifact that is recognized inherently in our minds through semiotics. It changes the symbol we see and adjusts the meaning to make a statement.

It is the act of transforming existing mass media to produce negative commentary about itself, using the original medium's communication method. It is a form of public activism which is generally in opposition to commercialism, and the vectors of corporate image. The aim of culture jamming is to create a contrast between corporate image and the realities of the corporation. This is done symbolically, with the "detournement" of pop iconography.

It is based on the idea that advertising is little more than propaganda for established interests, and that there is a lack of an available means for alternative expression in industrialized nations. Culture jamming is a resistance movement to the hegemony of popular culture, based on the ideas of "guerrilla communication." It has several forms: adbusting, guerilla theater, billboard hijacking, and graffiti. 

For more on the culture jamming movement, check out Naomi Klein's book No Logo or some of the links below. 

What is an infringement Festival, anyways?

 

The infringement is a democratically run, non-hierarchical interdisciplinary arts festival open to all critical artists - theatre, music, film, street performance, visual arts, you name it.

 

The infringement will never discriminate, censor or charge a registration fee and only accepts ethical sponsors that pose no conflict of interest.

 

It began in Montreal in 2004 and has since spread to Ottawa, Toronto, Buffalo, Regina, New York City and Bordeaux, France, with new communities hopefully joining very soon.

 

Links that need to be further investigated for their other links!: 

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2204777656

http://youtube.com/watch?v=FmKUh3ndmow

Semiotics, Systems, Shifts, and Semantics

**So i haven't updated in two, due to being in NJ for my brothers' graduations... but i have spent this dedicated to sewing more pieces for the bell skirt on the 'photo dress'... as well in reading Nancy J. Troy's 'Couture Culture'... and found some interesting bits... :

Roland Barthes (structuralist) in his analysis of "the fashion system" (1967)

"clothing is not, or not simply, a functional necessity but, more importantly, the material ground of fashion. Fashion in turn is a semiotic language through which cultural meanings are constructed."

"his concern was to create a rhetorical model for understanding the operations of what he called "written clothing" as a linguistic code; in fact, the code itself, the system, was his principal interest: fashion was a pretext for his exploration of how linguistic signs are made and how they function systematically in the production of social discourse."

to paraphrase 

"clothing (fashion) moved from a way of denoting ones significance through symbols, tradition, prerogative, heritage, caste, lineage, marital status, political belief etc to a more standardized convention in which people became more self conscious and relied on subtle nuances to delineate onesself from another and to secure their repsectabiliy... (high class fashion became easily accessible to prostitutes and non aristocratic persons) 

Balzac, "in our society, differences have disappeared: only nuances remain."

(this conformity can be illustrated in the shift in practice from Poiret's colorful, eye catching clothes to the woman who took over his prominent position, Coco Chanel, and her implementation of  couture fashions that projected an image of standardization ie. the "little black dress"

--> think Seurats Sunday afternoon's uniformity in dress portrayal and surface treatment with paint --> also holman hunt and other painters depicting prostitutes (the subtleties like in ankle exposure or languid positioning were cues in telling who was promiscuous and who was virtuous)

In thinking about words and perhaps semantics... 

the dual meaning of 'Fashion' 

 verb - to give a particular shape or form to; make;

    to accommodate; adjust; adapt:

noun- a prevailing custom or style of dress, etiquette, socializing,

    the make or form of anything:

Rough Draft Artist Statement

Assignment:

 

1.     Bring an abstract or artist statement to the next meeting.

 

I am interested in conflating the art and fashion industry in order to collapse medium specificity within an artistic practice. In order to visually communicate the blurring of Fine Art and Haute Couture I feel that is necessary to materially break down boundaries to confuse something predominately 2 dimensional for another that which is 3 dimensional. Using paint on canvas and photographic processes, I am interested in creating ‘textiles’ that define the quintessence of the ‘handmade mark’. Continuing with this idea I am also interested in using these ‘textiles’ to construct by hand an object that resembles a couture gown. What I hope to communicate is the true presence of the creator, the integrity of the artist, as well as a response or question to the ultimate dissolution of boundaries and specificity.

 

Assignment 1

Journal Reflections:

 

1.     Briefly describe one positive research experience of week 1.

 I have been very fortunate in the fact that with every endeavor and exploration I initially pursued, another question, idea, thought etc resulted. I have been able to take my original ideas and push them to the next level. Whether that level be a new direction in concept or new way of materially communicating the idea. From the general issues of the handmade product in art and fashion, I have branched out into exploring ontology, the history of art and fashion also being ‘handcrafted’, different ways of revealing integrity within an artistic practice (whether it be art or fashion), and also how to express the life and ‘alivedness’ of the human creator rather than mundane mechanized machine. In creating sketches I was drawn to my unconscious employment of designs compartmentalized into 6 units, which led to me to think about carbon (whose atomic number is also 6), and way in which algorithms that represent life (Fibonacci sequence) can be employed in the construction of my final objects. With all the thought about numbers it also made me contemplate numbers vs words, numbers expressing a value and words used for communication… interestingly so the timeline of fashion is demarcated by numbered periods (the 80s, the 90s etc) and in art it is in words, the –isms (expressionism, impressionism).

2.  Briefly describe one negative research experience of week 1

There has not been any real negative experience within my own research. Though I had come across a couple obstacles in trying to prepare my working space (keys, chemicals, etc.) though those problems have been situated. Other than that I sliced off a small bit of my finger while cutting photo paper (nothing too serious that some pressure and bandages couldn’t help) and locked my keys in the darkroom (though I was rescued by pub safety). Also I think there might be a leak in the sink I am using, which I will attend to as soon as maintenance is present.

 

3.  What goals do you have for next week?

I have started the construction of my first garment and would hope to have it completed within a week. While constructing, I still want to mull over newfound interests and ideas and materially explore their relevancy to my research.

(un)easily (Re)produced

This is the beginning of my first dress... which is composed of Black and White Photographic paper... it was important for me that the the photographic process was used... but more important that this mode of reproduction was manipulated in a way to showcase the hand made mark of the artist (which was done using developer and a paintbrush)... Im in interested in keeping the integrity of the artist... in that everything (the sewing and images) are all handmade .. with out a camera and without a sewing machine 

Wall of Skecthes

Sweet sketches, drawings, and predominately explorations with pastels, charcoal, water, and ink. Plus some sweet Baileys (creamy and beige), Bootsy Collins, old gregg and a funky ball of tits from outer space compliments of Kerri

Two Year Old Chemicals (hopefully will) WORK!!!!!!!!

Saturday! The first day of the first weekend and it proved to be the busiest day/ most productive day yet! After acquiring some unopened chemicals from a fellow Artist I decided that though they were two years old... and UNOPENED... they would have a better chance at working then the half empty chemicals that were previously in the lab... So after mixing... setting up... getting locked out of the lab (silly me forgot my keys)... getting back in... and doing lots of printing... the Developer, Stop, and Fix All appear to be working!!! ... though the ultimate test for these prints being archival will be if they do not turn purple by tomorrow!!!!

The Number 6... Algorithms... Life

In my mad pursuit of sketching, I realized that one of my "dress designs" was compartmentalized... and it was in 6 sections... It was so splendid to draw a connection of that unconscious employment of 6 compartments to Carbon whose atomic number is indeed 6!!! 

Carbon is the basis and backbone to ALL organic life... How great it was to think about a garment for life representing and talking about life... 

This unintentional discovery made me think back to what I had mentioned before concerning numbers... perhaps numbers ($$ amounts) could have some academic/intellectual resonance out side of a value scale... or maybe .... (for fashion) What if every price for something had to be a number that came from some sort of algorithm... or its numerology had to have some basis in whatever the garment was trying to communicate about the individual... or perhaps ... (for Art) the construction of it was based around an algorithm... 

And then it hit me.... tHE FIBONACCI SEQUENCE!!!! ... i have become mildly obsessed with this beautiful spiral  (perhaps robert smithson was too!) and sequence of number (And Mario Merz as well!!! )... So i started to write it out ... but without numbers....

I

I

II

III

IIIII

IIIIIIII

etc...

hmmm                    ......                                  ......

...looks kind of like a figure wearing a voluminous dress

 (lucky for me dresses/skirts with a lot of volume are 'in style' this spring/summer)

ontology, history: hand-crafted

I have always been interested in Ontology - what is real and what constitutes a reality and if it is someones' and not anothers' then in a sense it is contrived, so is it truly real; what it means to have existence, and the state of being etc. 

History ... Completely contrived... based on events and mostly from the white man's perspective... 

So, for those like myself, that are studying, memorizing, and regurgitating some sort of history (art for me) well then they are just perpetuating a facade, a contrived past existence or state of being. For example when i have a conversation with someone i am taking in (consciously and unconsciously) certain details while the other individual is doing the same. let just say, we both write down our individual accounts, which would ultimately be our reality of the situation. Totally different, they will be. So which is real, well can something be real if it is refuted? Well in science it is, if you can prove a hypothesis wrong then your assumption is invalid. 

Acceptance... our society accepts these truths as each and everyones reality...  i say, question your answers... or theirs

So.. to get to the point of this all, In looking at a timeline of fashion and comparing it to my previous knowledge of art history.. on first inspection i was interested in how 'styles/trends' are demarcated by numbers... years.. but mostly numbers.. the 50s 60s etc. and with art it is those avant garde -isms, words, letters etc. 

Interestingly so... Fashion... an industry powered by commerce and consumerism ($$).. knows nothing but the universal number system... 

Art... i believe should maintain a certain level of integrity... yet as we get closer to this day and age i see those -isms dying down and and art being referred to its decade... have we moved from the age of concept, ideaology, and MOSTLY communication! (bc as visully artists I use my art to talk to others/ communicate/ and instill ideas and thoughts in the viewer).. how can one communicate a feeling emotion or idea through numbers? (im sure there is a way.. .numerology.. but for all intents and purposes I am going to be looking at numbers with in the universal knowledge of each).... 

So as i previously stated in another entry, what i think interests me the most, is this idea of the 'hand-made' or 'hand-crafted'... and not only are the products (art works and clothing) hand made but the history is as well... hand crafted by the writers of the cannon -they chose what to include and to exclude... (maybe, in a duchampian way of thinking, historians are artists as well, they made the final decision, and because they chose to include or exclude it gives them full artistic rights over that history) ...

Both industries are shaped by the people in them... if we have ex stock-brokers (no names mentioned... : cough: koons) creating art then their interest will lie in the numbers... and it will be carried over... clearly.... 

So perhaps im really interested in the idea of 'hand-crafted' 'hand-contrived' all encompassing... and for me the only way to say that ... is to do it!!!! I can't keep telling you... so ... im an artist.... I will SHOW you!

Language...!!!

Emerging Thought Process:

 Language (semiotics?) has also been extremely important in regards to my search, i found it interesting how the word 'trend' is only used in the 'art world' when it comes to the market (changes in buying/ selling/ as a comodity) where as style has been reserved for the aesthetics (movement/avant garde / established way of making a mark)... trend in the art aesthetics seems to be tabooo; interestingly so trend is used for the changing 'looks' (hot new items/latest garb and accesories/ patterns, colors,cuts etc) used freely and coinciding with established styles in fashion.

Haute Couture Meets Fine Art

Currently I am in Delaware working on research. The concept is loosely based around conflating the art and fashion industries in an attempt to collapse medium specificity within an artistic practice. 

My first step has been researching what entails haute couture fashion and the latest trends/styles in fashion for spring/summer 2008. In the process I have also been referencing a how to draw for fashion book, in which have done several practice sketches of the 9 headed.

croquis

I have also been in a mad pursuit of obtaining keys for a working space. In which i spent a bulk of last night trying to clean up the printmaking darkroom, as well as discovering that the chemicals in that space were last used in 2006!!! I am a bit unsure as to whether I want to open and/or use them!!!

Study Abroad/Aexchange

http://www.lhi.is/media/skjalasafn/english//curriculumMYN07-08Autumn.pdf

This is an incredible discovery... Iceland Academy of the Arts!!!

Interesting Courses UDEL doesnt have but should!!!!!!

ART HISTORY / ART THEORY, ELECTIVE COURSES:
LIS4502M PHILOSOPHY OF ART 2 CREDITS / 4 ECTS
Description: The course reviews some of the basic concepts used in art theory, such as art, beauty, taste and artistic
value judgements and how their meaning has changed in the Western world from ancient to contemporary times. The
basic theories of art in modernity will be examined. We will also study various issues/controversies in modern art
theory and how contemporary art has tried to influence our understanding of them.
Objectives: The student understands the basic concepts of art theory in modern times. Recognizes the basic theories
of modern art. Understands the relation between art theory and the development of modern art.
Assessment: Assignments during classes 40%, essay 60%
Instructor: Gunnar J. Árnason

HLJ6603M SOUND AND INTERACTIVE ART 3,5 CREDITS / 7 ECTS
Description: This course deals with sound as material for art creation. Computer software and sensors and how they
are used to make interactive works will be looked at. The interactivity between sound and pictures and sound and
movement will be explored. The possibilities of using sound in connection with other media and sound in space will
be worked with.
Objectives: That students become familiar with the use of interactive media in art creation.
Assessment: Attendance, participation and assignments.
Instructors: Haraldur Karlsson

TÍM2007M TIME / STUDIO 7 CREDITS / 14 ECTS
Description: These 10 weeks are committed to video and time based art practice. Students are trained to identify a
methodology and means through digital technology in realizing their works. Students are assisted on individual basis
and the technical aspects of making video works covered.
The course end with a joint presentation and critique with other 2nd year students.
The goal is that students become acquainted with the wide range of possibilities of video and time based art, at the
same time as they increase their ower all critical awareness and creativity to express their ideas through digital
technology and place them in the contemporary art context.
Assessment: Attendance, participation and assignments
Supervisor: Lára Marteinsdóttir
Instructors: Haraldur Karlsson and guests.

VSM2201M WORKSHOP / VIDEO AND SOUND 0,5 CREDIT / 1 ECTS
Description: An introduction to the video and sound recording studio and basics aspects of video and sound work.
The course covers the main technical aspects of digital recording and processing in video and sound as well as basic
computer software and their use. The studio facilities and equipment, their handling and possibilities will be explored.
This course is required for access to the studio during the course of study.
Objectives: That students attain basic skills and knowledge of the use and handling of the facilities and equipment of
the video and sound recording studio.
Assessment: Attendance, participation and assignments
Instuctor: Haraldur Karlsson
Period: 10.09.07–14.09.07 (group

líst íslenka @ Scandivnavia House MAY2nd!!!!!

From Another Shore: Recent Icelandic Art

May 2 – August 15, 2008
The exhibition From Another Shore: Recent Icelandic Art is a succinct account of Icelandic art as it appears in the works of 21 artists who have been prominent in the last two decades. Due to particular geographical conditions, Icelandic artists are to a large extent influenced by the overwhelming nature of the country, which is Europe's largest unspoiled territory. They are also marked by the particular isolation of the island, halfway between Europe and North-America, which despite its area as Europe's second largest island has a population of a mere 300,000 spread along the rugged coast, turning its back on the uninhabited, volcanic, and glacial highland. Keenly aware of the international art scene, Icelandic artists are constantly torn between their sublime hinterland and the urge to seek out its opposite—the bustling vitality of a cosmopolitan city such as New York.
Drawn from the collection of the National Gallery of Iceland, the exhibition ranges from sculpture and installation to painting and photography. It includes approximately 40 works by 21 internationally acclaimed artists: Þórdís Aðalsteinsdóttir, Ásgrímur Ásgrímsson, Olga Bergmann, Hildur Bjarnadóttir, Margrét H. Blöndal, Ólafur Elíasson, Steingrímur Eyfjörð, Gabríela Friðriksdóttir, Jón Óskar, Hulda Hákon, The Icelandic Love Corporation (Sigrún Hrólfsdóttir, Jóní Jónsdóttir, and Eirún Sigurðardóttir), Guðný Rósa Ingimarsdóttir, Hekla Dögg Jónsdóttir, Ólöf Nordal, Eggert Pétursson, Katrín Sigurðardóttir, Hrafnkell Si
gurðsson, Magnús Sigurðarson, and Hulda Stefánsdóttir.
Support for the exhibition is provided by Alcoa Foundation, Iceland Naturally, and the Icelandic Cultural Fund of The American-Scandinavian Foundation.

PULSE!

Today I traversed to Pier 40 with a dear friend to witness the 2008 PULSE contemporary Art Fair. It was this incredible display on a pier of international art work. The place was enormous, there was so much work I know that I did not get to encounter everything though we saw the bulk. I was a little disappointed because it was comprised of mostly conventional 2d work, though this being a 'fair' it makes sense that the 'type' of art was catering to collectors/buyers/profits/commodity etc. All the fun things about the art world in which i abhor. Not too many placards discussing the concept or meaning (that is if there was really any?) it seemed to be alot of eyecandy succumbing to the conventions of 'beauty'. To sum up my good friend dave hickey, once a viewer's eye is met with something "beautiful"/"pretty"/"conventionally nice and pleasing" the work stops there, further inspection and probing ceases. Which is why beautiful images become so problematic- which may be why i could not delve deeper to find such a compelling message. 

Awesome things include:

PULSE PLAY >
Sameness, Difference and Desire
Curated by Bill Arning

In making sense of the visual world the human eye scans constantly, and then when objects of interest are identified the mind is engaged and starts making distinctions with other previously identified objects,; Are they the same or different? If different, how are they different? If the same, are they the same, similar or two iterations of the same phenomenon? This is true if the objects under consideration are fellow humans or products on the supermarket shelf. Somehow in this visual perusal the close examination leads to inchoate feelings of desire, some for sameness, some for difference. In this selection of international video artists this process of comparison provoking desire is replayed in each video in ways that are also both exactly the same and completely different

Mary Coble
Blood Script, 2008
Courtesy of CONNER CONTEMPORARY ART

In Marker New York (2006), DC (2007) and Madrid (2008) Mary Coble stood silently while passersby wrote in marker on her body derogatory words they had been called or had used against others. In Blood Script, these documented hateful insults will be tattooed onto Coble’s skin without ink. Ornate script will create a dichotomy between beautiful visual forms of the words and the horrible meanings they convey.

Words will appear in blood as needles penetrate Coble’s skin. Contact prints will be made of each word by pressing paper against the incisions. As they are created, blood impressions will be displayed on the wall.

In a related performance, Note to Self (2005), Coble had names of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans-gendered hate-crime murder victims tattooed on herself in inkless block letters. The blood prints and documentation are in the collection of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.

isnt that the creepy ron jeremy look alike that masturbated under a ramp?

 

On Friday, February 29th, a cohort and myself traversed the asphalt paved paths to an incredible opportunity at UPenn. In conjunction with the exhibition “Power Fields: Explorations in the work of Vito Acconci” at the Slought Foundation, Mr. Acconci spoke that night to a sea of people dressed in mourning at UPenn. Aptly named, his talk “From Word to Action to Architecture” cycled his career, aesthetic explorations, and the progression of chosen medium. He started out using words as a material with an agenda to make them as literal as possible. One of which I really enjoyed was, for example: 

 

“On the one hand there is a finger.

On the one hand there is another finger.

On the one hand there is another finger.

On the one hand there is another finger.

On the one hand there is another finger.”

 

From there he started to incorporate words with action. He would read as he was walking so as to translate spoken word into time and distance. One of the great things about his early work is that it is a non-traditional artist’s medium, like paint or clay. Which coincides with the great facet of art, which is that (what he explained it as) it is a “non-field field” in which one can “import from any field”. As he progressed along the timeline he spoke about his Following Piece in which he was interested in a real space and how he would move through it. This ultimately was by way of a randomly chosen pedestrian. He talked about how his movements than became the emulation of another’s, and how he became tied into someone else’s time and space, literally being dragged along. He was extremely fascinated in the role of the viewers and the attempt to actively engage them. So he began making works in which he made himself vulnerable (there include most of his video pieces such as converging). He expressed his theory in which he felt this would open up the circular exchange of the artist and action in turn extending it to the viewer. Yet in retrospect he said that in these explorations “I started an action that ended in me”. This closed the circle, creating the voyeuristic viewer. Which is where his work then shifted to live performance. This includes works such as Claim, and the infamous Seed Bed. In which the former turned out to perpetuate the hierarchical role of artist and viewer and in which in the latter though trying to become part of the space he questioned whether his presence was superfluous. After this he became extremely interested in installation and art that only made sense in a particular space, which soon changed into an attempt to redo architecture and became involved with various public art projects. This was the shift from where he stopped working alone and instead in a group (Acconci Studios). “If you start private it will end private, and if you start quasi public it will end publically. “ One project in which he was involved with was to redesign the WTC. This was a “pre-exploded WTC so that if terrorists were flying by they would look down and see that this one was already taken care of and that they would just pass it by”.

 

The best part was when you headed over to the gallery, which had all his documented work, videos, and architectural design. This space was literally a labyrinth in which gallery goers were forced to interact with one another. The main room house this enormous amorphously shaped table that came up to your shin, in which viewers could sit on the pepto bismol pink table/bench and peruse through copies of his textual works. This was AWESOME because during the talk he had spoke various times on how it was important for him to try to re create the gallery space as one in which people could gather.

Currently...

I am in pursuit of learning the icelandic ( íslenska ) language ... =)

thus far i can count to 10, say the alphabet, and a few curses... thanks to Rammsteinfreak93


Pronunciation

í/ý as the English ee in feel
ú as the English oo in school
u similar to the German ö in schön, or the French e in le
æ as the English i in ice
ei/ey as the English a in fate
ó similar to the English o in old
au diphthong starting as ö and ending with a y-sound, similar to the French feuille
é as the English ye in yes
-ng, -nk before –ng, -nk, i is pronounced as í, e as ei, u as ú, ö as au, o as ó, a as á.
Ð/ð as the English th in that
Þ/þ as the English th in think

Terms and phrases

Hello Halló
Good morning Góðan daginn
Good evening Gott kvöld
Good night Góða nótt
Goodbye Bless
See you Sjáumst
Hi Hæ
Yes Já
No Nei
Thank you Takk fyrir
Excuse me Afsakið
Sorry Fyrirgefðu
Perhaps Kannski
Not Ekki
Stop! Stans
money peningar
creditcard kreditkort
foreign exchange gjaldeyrisskipti
coins mynt
map kort
address heimilisfang
bagage farangur
car bíll
taxi leigubíll
stamp frímerki
post office pósthús
What Hvað
Where Hvar
When Hvenær?
Who Hver?
Why Hvers vegna?
campsite tjaldstæði
doctor læknir
telephone sími
toilet snyrting
Youth Hostel Farfuglaheimili

Food

beer bjór
bread brauð
butter smjör
chicken kjúklingur
coffee kaffi
egg egg
fish fiskur
fries franskar kartöflur
lamb lamb
milk mjólk
onion laukur
potatoe kartafla
tea te

Days and months

Monday mánudagur
Tuesday þriðjudagur
Wednesday miðvikudagur
Thursday fimmtudagur
Friday föstudagur
Saturday laugardagur
Sunday sunnudagur

January janúar
February febrúar
March mars
April apríl
May maí
June júní
July júlí
August ágúst
September september
October október
November nóvember
December desember

Geographer meanings

Fjord fjörður
Bay flói
Waterfall foss
Crater gígur
Cave hellir
Port höfn
Lava field hraun
Glacier jökull
Hot spot laug
Lake vatn
Small bay vík