Elise Engler took us to the high line today, to gather information from a more built up area than what the park was yesterday. The High Line is an unused train line, regenerated using, in part, artists to recreate spaces along it for a pleasant public space experience. Anyway, because of the nature of the section of the High Line I looked at, starting at West 26th Street x 12th Avenue and heading around to the river, I could not help but think of artist Hertha Klugge-Pott. She described how she ordered her world. She mentioned she ordered her world in her mind in layers and described pulling information from beneath her, around her and above. Below are some of the photographs I will use when I later create an image based on photographs and figure out how I will order my response to the High Line. Above the High Line On the High Line Below and reaching sideways from the High Line
0 Comments
With Elise Engler in Madison Square garden guiding us through an outdoor working session. Trying to simplify elements from the first picture back in the classroom.
We did begin the SVA workshop this morning and the biggest consideration to our art narratives that need to be questioned is the How and Why we are doing what we are doing as an artist in any journey we choose to represent. It was a good day and facilitator Elise Engler has been very responsive to our needs.
For someone who is not the biggest fan of tourist bus rides - here I am again. It is not that they are bad....it just feels like I am seeing things the way everybody else is seeing it when I am on there, instead of the way I could personally be seeing it. Anyway here is a snap crossing the bridge tonight. I was content to have seen this perspective of the Brooklyn Bridge. It seemed while most people were looking up, it was my queue to look down while we were crossing. An exhibition about visual narratives. Like reading or film genres, there are different visual genres and we favour particular ones. The artwork by Pawet Althamer (below) I was naturally drawn too. I was quite moved when I saw an exhibition of his in 2014 at the New Museum on Bowery Street, New York. So I was drawn to this knowing already where he is coming from and where his interests lie. There was a children's exhibition off to the side within the museum. It was children responding to the buildings of Frank Lloyd Wright and Frank Gehry to create their own works. Along with this was lots of quotes from teachers - aimed at children but I took a lot from them as well. There was more here, but I am too tired, so will come back and add it another day.
So, this is where I had a 'take my breath away' moment. I watched an interview a couple of weeks ago with an Australian female fashion design artist (I can't remember her name) but she drew her inspiration from the dancers of the ballet - her pieces reflected the movement and they were beautiful. I am not a person that seeks to go shopping and dressing up too often, however there is no denying the artwork that these pieces are. The western artists of these pieces below drew inspiration and references from the object behind them being part of China's history. I guess it is just wonderful to see art inspired by art.
Evening Gown, spring/summer 2007. Haute Couture. Gold lame embroidered with gold and silver silk, metal, and sequins. Guo Pei (Chinese born 1967). 'The bodice is shaped like a lotus flower, which is one of the eight Buddhist symbols and represents spiritual purity and enlightenment.....combining Eastern and Western elements into a common cultural language'. Artist Craig Green (British, born 1986) "Ensemble, spring/summer 2015" Left: Jacket, shirt, trousers, and sarong: white cotton poplin, armature: wood and white cotton muslin. Right: Jacket and trousers: black quilted cotton plain weave and plastic basket weave with black cotton twill tape. I am not sure if film inspired clothing or the other way around. I spotted it just as I was headed back to meet with the rest of Art Study Tour Group.
We had a limited time at the Metropolitan Museum this morning, but it certainly made an impact in that short time. I am so grateful to Graham Coomber who told me before I left, not to have any preconceived ideas of what I want to take from any experiences I have over here. So I intentionally avoided the contemporary art section that I would have normally bee-lined to. I had one regret from my last visit to the Met and that was not going to have a look at the print, Under the Wave off Kanagawa. There was also the fashion (on the lower level of the Met) that I wanted to look at before I left - having watched a documentary on Diana Vreeland a month ago or so (who brought the Met back to life with her fashion exhibitions after numbers of visitors slumped (Year....not sure)). So I headed off to see the print to begin with and then began to look in that area specifically, ie the Asian Arts. These are some of the works that stood out to me in the immediate area around the wave. I think it is the domestic nature of the image on the right that drew me in. I would be lying if I didn't say a part of me is missing home at the moment.
I was somehow separated from my tour group, which allowed me to walk, clear my head and take in some features immediately in front of me on the streets. I thought that regardless of location, this sculpture provides a really powerful symbol of the many people seen around the streets in similar circumstances. Somebody has placed some fresh bread on the hand of the sculpture - reminded me that small, seemingly insignificant gestures could mean the world to somebody else.
Again, a few snapshots taken from the bus rooftop, so a short and sweet look! Somewhere around West 125th Street, near the Apollo Theater. I would normally much prefer to walk the streets than take a passing glimpse from a bus roof top behind thrity other people's heads. Walking allows me to stop and take in more information about the buildings and the people I am interested in rather than snippets of information about everything that I am seeing. I cannot retain it all or get a proper look. Learning a lot about myself on this trip already - seeing a few of my own cracks and strengths.....which can only be a good thing.
300 West 57th Street. We went past this building on the bus. It does stand out but more interestingly the tour guy mentioned some of the innovative design at the time of building it. See the link has some background.
Glimpses around town, of the images I/we associate with as being iconic to New York via sitcoms and movies we grew up on.
Okay, I am going to use this blog as a bit of a running commentary for this Art Study Tour. We are about to go into SVA NYC to learn how to visually tell our stories, so a running document of my days will give me something to refer back to if it is this short journey I decide to use to explore when I get home. So I apologise in advance if it gets a bit corny. It is only for ten days! It is the 13th now in New York and the day has been blissfully warm.
I leave tomorrow with a group of student artists to New York. We will be spending some time at the School of Visual Art to be guided by Elise Engler. Engler will be guiding us through developing tools and techniques to enable us to build our own visual narratives. Interestingly, the Guggenheim has an exhibition on currently called 'Storylines' (an article from blouin artinfo). The article concludes with, 'In the embrace of all perspectives, there are so many words, so much noise, we hear nothing.' After reading this article I want to see the works of this exhibition more than ever. It is really interesting that there will be so many different artists from different worlds and with different agendas all placed together. The works together may not flow or be seamless, but like any group of people placed together at any given time, there is always unexpected surprises along with the cracks and the issues. I think we decide firstly if we are going to listen and then choose if we decide to hear what is being said by each individual. It is just very apt that I am off on a journey with a group I don't know very well to learn about how to visually tell our own stories and how well we ourselves will listen and hear the stories of others. Then there is this exhibition that may reflect this journey, in a way, that begins tomorrow! I am fortunate, grateful and blessed to be having this experience. Can't wait!
|
Archives
February 2019
KyLIE spindlerBrisbane visual artist Categories
All
|