some lovelies by Mary Starke.

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hand made mark

I have really been interested in looking at minimal conceptual art lately. Partially because aesthetically that seems to be what I am into and partially because I have been making my students read all about conceptual art and photography. Which is of course totally exciting half of them and totally confusing/overwhelming half of them.

Anyhoo all of this led me back to Hanne Darboven's work. I looked at work quite a bit in graduate school when I was doing some serial text work but again am drawing to the simplicity of concept and the beauty of the hand made mark.

Read an review of her work here.

that moment.

You know that moment in the studio when you know what you are doing is a disaster technically but you simultaneously know it is an exciting moment and it is totally taking you somewhere good, really good.

I think I might be there and I feel like I can breathe for the first time in weeks.

flash again, doubles

FLASHBACK POST

I will never stop loving and obsessing over this work.



I saw the gorgeous work of Alyssa Pheobus in the fall at an open house tour of a big collector and immediatly fell in love. Alyssa uses graphite and text to reference textiles in her large scale drawings...



So many wonderful things about the work, the words are powerful, the textures she creates remind us of domesticity, and her choice to often leave things unfinished allows the work to have a powerful ambiguity.



I am so glad I got reminded of her work this week.



and wish oh wish she would submit to my show in Tribeca.



See more of her work here.

flash to collections of word, banality and symbols.

FLASHBACK POST

Since I am oh so into collection and text right this moment this seemed like good work to revisit. The text one seriously blows my mind.





If you knew the state of my brain you would be impressed that I am posting so brief in words but abundant in inspiration. This is the work of NY based artist Nari Ward. I had never heard of him before this morning but his shoe lace installations drew me in and I looked further.


I love large word installations and I love reclaimed material so even though conceptually he is dealing with much more political statements than I, I am totally digging his work.

Love this piece!! and the below piece is powerful and totally creepy.

His gallery describes his work... "Ward’s dramatic sculptural installations are composed of systematically collected material from his urban neighborhood. By revealing the numerous emotions inherent within found everyday objects, Ward’s works examine issues surrounding race, poverty, and consumer culture."

His recent work has used textiles more often incorporating shoes, shoe laces, and vinyl.



See more of his work here or if you are in Philly see it in person here.

stitched and unstitched words

insane over these works by Jen Bervin. I feel like maybe she was in a show of mine or a show with me as her name is oh so familiar but her work is not. I love the connection to language, literature, text and thread. So many oh so good things.

See more here.

slowly cutting

I am actually having some progress in my studio. My fall is so busy with work, child, art and teaching that I just resigned myself to let go and so far that actually seems to be working. I am still totally confused as to what and where my work was going but it is going so I guess for now that is just going to have to do.

I am working on a number of things that are maybe experiments that  never go anywhere or maybe something real that develops into something important for me. Above is a cut paper work piece. I have 2 more words of it done and since that is all I can do in one studio day without my hand being super pissed off at me it is slow work in progress. Since I currently only have one real studio day a week it is very slow going but I am feeling quite ok about that.

so tomorrow should be some progress.

friday flashbacks- cutting away to find nostalgia.

 

 

Due to an opportunity that has come up for me and my work, waiting to announce until it is confirmed, I discovered the work of Molly Bosley...



Initially my interest was peeked by her embroidery but as I perused her website they quickly become secondary as her cut paper works are AMAZING.


Her technique of layering the silhouettes adds so much depth to the work...


and her more sculptural dioramas breathe a wonderful life into them. Kind of how when Kara Walker's work is lit.

Molly says this about her work:

There is a tangible presence of hands in my artwork... It contains the imprint of the instrument that crafted it. There is an awareness of the connection to humans and the mementos they possess. I want to create an art that is arresting, yet familiar, like a memento you find tucked away in between the pages of an old book. In an effort to harmonize my media with my message, I construct work out of the detritus of American culture, the little things that slip away into junk stores, attics, or trash bins...The process is instinctive in choosing the images but structured, layered and designed so the different elements harmonize to produce an artwork that is wholey nostalgic.

I love the moment in her statement when she sayes how a memento found in an old book is both arresting, yet familiar. As someone who loves those little discoveries and is quite inspired by them myself I found those words quite poignant and poetic. And her work very much manages to strike that balance.

See more of Molly's lovely work here.

homepage

not sure if I am sold but I changed my homepage image. What do you think?

More flashin-pearls and pins

 

Artist Angela Ellsworth has been getting a lot of attention for her gorgeous and horrifying Seer Bonnets, including a feature in the current FiberArts Magazine.


Angela works from her Mormon background and ancestry to comment on and critique polygamy, forced communal domesticity, and the idea of sister wives. The work re-examines the experience of pioneer Mormons. The first image includes 9 bonnets nodding to Angela's great, great grandfathers 9 wives.


The detail in her work is amazing as she covers, totally covers the bonnets with pearlized corsage pins, covering the outside with a pearly surface, also reminds me of BB's, and the lining with sharp pins, making them into objects no one wants to wear. Her craftmanship is quite impressive.


Her work also includes performances that look quite intriguing these performances include:
solemn sister wives doing the Electric Slide in pastel prairie dresses, hairdos with frontal poufs, and strap-on braids.


She also creates embroideries on found paper napkins, I love seeing the pattern and embossment on the paper napkin.


You can see videos of her performances and many many more works from her archives at her website here.

suburbia

How amazing is this fleeting temporal installation by designer/artist Chad Wright. Masterplan.

 

 

See more of his designs here or read about the project here.

Blast from past

 

The Sleepers, Sophie Calle

Yesterday I posted about Sophie Calle's bed piece- in which she invited strangers to come sleep in her bed- so I thought it was appropriate to mention a project by the conceptual artist Josh Greene.

The Sleepers, Sophie Calle

Sophie is a unique and well "ballsy" artist. Her work skirts the line of legal and crosses over into an unknown territory of voyeurism, intimacy, and violation. Her work often is very intimate while also being very removed. For instance in Address Book she calls every person in a found black book talks to them and works to uncover who the owner is. Speaking to strangers to discover a stranger. But all the while having intimate conversation about them. Publishing her findings in the newspaper.


Or her infamous project Suite Venitienne, in which she overheard a man at a party in Paris say he was going to Venice- So she books a ticket and follows him throughout his trip. Documenting him. All the while he does not know. (until he does and confronts her.)

The list goes on as to how Sophie pushed the limits of intimacy and voyeurism to find greater truths about human existence.


So I really like Josh Greene's response to her work where he asks Sophie to mail him her bed. He has just broken up with his girlfriend and wants comfort. So of course Sophie mails it complete with sheets, pillows, etc. He then slept in the bed for 6 months corresponding with Sophie about his emotions.

See the project here.