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Der Raucher Kultur by ~yokotei on deviantART


Rauch frei by ~yokotei on deviantART

Freshman Lecture Review

this week - H. John Thompson

Things I liked:
1. There is no set definition and medium for 'a drawing'. Thompson's work is not confined to pencil and paper, in fact, his definition of drawings were small scale and very polished looking studies of architectural elements, in materials that imitate their real life counterparts.
2. It's okay to live in your parents' basement. or in his case, the basement of his grandfather's bakery. While he does work inside his studio just as often as he works outside, he has a really nice setup, perfect for his work ethic and storage needs. The collection of oddly-scaled chairs are interesting and cute as a source of inspiration.

3. Draught Horses are amazing and intense creatures. Thompson's work inspired by draught horses and decide 'found' objects ( the old truck he disassembled) is very strong conceptually and visually - the way the finished piece took up almost the whole gallery space at Uarts, just communicated the dominating presence like that which he described in his encounter with the horses.

"And that's when the turkeys showed up."

Freshman Lecture Review

This Week: Douglas Bucci, who hangs out/teaches in the metals department here at Tyler.

1. He's accesible. One of the reasons I chose to attend Tyler is for the jewelry/metals/cad/cam program: I attended a small metals and jewelry making class at Moore College for two consecutive summers, and was smitten with the idea of all the new and shiny 'toys' in this department. While i haven't done any serious metalwork in a while, I'm still quite enamor with the idea of taking a jewelry class here at Tyler. now that he's been introduced, i feel that Doug will be more approachable.
his work itself is also accessible, both the commercial (which is easily identifiable, even for a shut-in like myself) and personal (which caters to a more specific audience, but is very relatable).
2. embracing discomfort. i've noticed in my own experience - being dissatisfied with your work means that you are doing something right. this is not to be confused with doing something at the last minute and 'settling' for the result ( something of which I've been guilty on recent occasion). It's bizarrely comforting to know that this is the way a professional perceives things as well. and he also drew a line between comfort and discomfort - putting his family first, being in Philadelphia, all while pushing himself to do more artistically.
3. his work is truly personal, without becoming static. The pieces he makes focus on a central theme in his life - his dealing with Diabetes. So they're all connected in that way, but especially with the printed pieces he's produced most recently, are complimented by the technology he's exploring.

No Lecture Next Week? No Review Next Week

Freshman Lecture Review

This week we had the pleasure of listening to a talk by Marianne Dages.

things i liked:
1. Her talk was geared toward teaching us how to function as artists in the Real World. It felt as relevant as it most likely is. Especially her advice to start thinking about things now. I know a lot of my classmates, and myself, are still just mentally floating along, not sure which particular direction to commit to, and that's fine and dandy, but once I decide (and I'm itching to do so) I completely plan to kick my life into high gear. I've also had that same vague idea of 'sitting in a huge space, just thinking', but as for accesorizing - I'm interesting in fibers and small metalwork, which require lots of equipment - I'm going to start thinking and making shopping lists. I actually love making lists and then not doing anything on them. So much that I've though of getting a cute 'to do list' tattoooed on my arm! :) but i don't like tattoos otherwise.
2. Variety Ms. Marianne didn't just talk about her experience - she referred to friends and other artists that inspired her, all of which have/are finding means and spaces to make their art, and make the most of it. It's good to have options and she showed plenty of them. I particularly liked the Residencies, because it kind of reminded me of why I chose to live on campus - to concentrated on my work. though of course, it's not like 100% Frozen Concentrate.
3.Personal story. I felt Ms. Marianne had a good balance of other's she is influenced by, to that of her own experience. And in contrast, her own experience felt ore valuable. she also talked a lot ab out process, how she began out of school and got to where she is now, and treated her story as it is - a work in progress. She gave me the impression of being an extremely well rounded person.

Next Week: Douglas Bucci!

Freshman Lecture Review

This Week, Candy Depew talked about stuff. Most of Which had nothing to do with the studio.

Things i liked:
1. All of her work was eyecatching. especially the calcite skulls.
2. She does a lot of collaborations. and had interesting stories about them.
3. She had a lot of cool places that she visited, to talk about.

Some of the installations and work she did were fascinating, However, by 11:15 or thereabouts, she only mentioned a few things about her 'studio model', the apprentice system. i didn't feel as informed as i did entertained, but after 45 minutes the novelty wore thin.

Freshman Lecture Review

Things I liked this week:
1. Peter Hanley's Mohawk. Not often you see a dude whose obviously over 30, has a Mohawk and doesn't look awful. Double props for an bilateral symmetry.
2. Prezi saw this program in use a few weeks ago while undercover with some friends, and i must say, it is very aesthetically pleasing, and feels a lot more efficient than powerpoint.
3. The Studio not as a location but as a state of mind, per say - I feel like i'm starting to get a sense of this living here on campus. It's not like i can work in the room, there's not enough space, and too many distractions. In Peabody's basement studio, i'm probably just as distracted, but it's an inspiring kind of distraction, because there's room to spread out, and like-minded individuals ( collaborators, per say) with which to share ideas, and from whom to get pre-critiques (I say pre-critique because they help you prepare for the big ones in class.)

I didn't feel that Hanley was as strong of a speaker as Blahn or Girard, but that's alright because the most important thing they are bringing to the table here is their ideas. and it was kind of amusing that his digital presentation was very conversational, in the sense that him talking and his writing sound pretty much the same.

Next week : some lady whose name escapes me!

Freshman Lecture Review

things i enjoyed about last weeks lecture:
1. Phillip Blahn was seriously entertaining; an engaging speaker and had an awesome accent! I studied german for a few years in high school and kind of regret that i didn't keep up with it (had to choose between that and art class) but it's still fun to listen to people who are german, speak it and mix the language with their english, because occasionally i understand what they mean without having to think too hard about it.
2. The Bauhaus Structure I didn't understand exactly what a Bauhaus was until this lecture ; I've come across it researching Robert Raushenberg Last Spring (he attended Black Mountain College, which under the direction of Josef Albers was in the fashion of the Bauhaus) but didn't really understand what it meant. something to do with architecture or studio space? this talk really shed some light on the subject for me, and actually got me excited about the structure of the school. however, i don't feel it is practical for me personally, or to restructure Tyler with the Bauhaus model - it would interrupt the flow of things, for sure.
3. Modernism I had no idea where this movement started!I thought it was an offshoot of Art Deco (though i'm still under the impression that this was a movement in the realm of Decor and architecture - where do those lines meet?) but this totally shed some light on the matter for me. Like the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, there's a definite sense of utility, while still being almost ahead of it's time and therefore without time. it's complicated.

next time- Peter Hanleys take on Studios ( or lack thereof)