Abstraction on Making Beads

Here is a short clip on my experiment of abstracting footage of me making beads to the point of mainly showing the motions.

My Narrow Critique on the Gallery Space as a Whole

Fresco in Pompeii

Lascauz Cave Paintings

In the past couple hundred years the gallery space has become a matter of much debate. It could be said that the first gallery space was on the walls of caves approximately ten thousand years ago. Then it evolved into frescos for wealthy homeowners then to the walls of massive cathedrals or masques. However, it could be argued that the first official gallery was the Salon de Paris, which opened its first show in 1725.

Talbot Rice Gallery

Omayyad Mosque, Damascus, Syria

Salon de Paris

The Lightning Field 1977
Walter De Maria

Since then the gallery space evolved into what we now call the “White Space” which is exactly that, a room or rooms that is purely white to best show what work is being displayed. Then in the 1960’s until now artist felt that the white space was too oppressive, too closed-minded to other forms of art that is not painting, printmaking, sculpture or photography and too aggressively patriarchal. So these artists went beyond the white space. They went outdoors, to rundown factories, homes, and essentially anywhere else. Those spaces where then called “Brown Spaces”.

Now that I have very briefly and narrowly stated the history of the gallery space, I will state my opinion on the matter. What can be said about almost all of these spaces (save perhaps the cave paintings)? Except for a very few incidences, they were all for the rich, the educated, the people who were in the ‘know’.

When I was younger, perhaps between the ages of 11 to 14, I refused to be an artist. Even though I knew that I had artistic talent, I didn’t want to be apart of something that was so persistently closed-minded. Obviously this was in the mind of a very young girl who knew essentially nothing about the art world and the deep, messy hole it has turned into, I was biased toward what I saw. What did I see then? I saw people painting, creating things just for the sake of doing it, just for the sake of selfish ambition. The older I got the more educated I became and realized that art has a great potential of being something more than that. But the way that the art is displayed is still narrow. It confines itself to a specific audience who has far too much power in what is deemed as “good” art or “bad” art.

However, we as artists, have an amazing advantage with the Internet. When the Internet first became a thing, it was slow, small and few had access to it. Even now, we are realizing that the Internet is riddled with flaws. Also, when it first came about a few avant-garde artists used it to create their own work, which was still viewed and critiqued by the usual suspects. Regardless, more and more people around the world now have access to the Internet and the numbers are growing daily.

Though I am sure I could talk about the numbers to prove how much the Internet grows daily, the only example I am going to tell is more personal. When I was at the age of 17, I visited Uganda for the first time. When I left, the friends that I made there wanted to keep in touch, as did I. At the time there were two ways of keeping in contact. The first was by using “snail mail” which would sometimes make it all the way to the United States. The second mode of contact was via e-mail. The only way they could get e-mail was by visiting the local missionaries, which was the only way they could have access to Internet. However, five years later I came back to the same town called Kabale and during that time an Internet Café was opened. When I left Uganda the second time I had gained several friends on facebook whom since then I have chatted with and kept in continuous contact.

All of this to say that the Internet is growing, which should make our work as artists, or even activists, philanthropists, or anything really, easier. They will have more ability to show their work to the world, and perhaps aim to make it better. As a pessimist I know I speak naively, but it cannot be argued that at this moment, change is possible. 

Making the Beads and One Painting

Here is a video on how I make the beads while I watch a Bollywood movie.




Also, here is the first piece I made with the beads describing my frustration. The frustration being that I have been fortunate enough to be born into a position in life where I can actually attempt to make a difference in developing nations. However, because I am a white, middle-class American I receive a lot of criticism and am constantly asked if I even have a right to delve into the issues that I care most about. Sewing the white beads for me represented my burden and my chains.

New Work in Progress

I am in the middle of creating little, white paper beads inspired by what I saw in The Congo, as I mentioned in an earlier post. I have decided (for the time being) to be obsessed with these beads as they symbolize a great deal to me, and some very serious issues in Africa. Something that I realized after a few months getting into this subject matter of art and philanthropy is that there is a great deal of push-back whenever anyone hears the words "philanthropy"or anything that relates to it. I have realized, on top of other more credible reasons, the reason for all this push back is because I am a white, middle class American who has never been able to relate to people who have undergone true suffering and that they fear that I will create biased work that will exploit those I'm trying to help.

So with that being said I am creating my own beads that are white and have no words on them. When I have created enough of them, I will make a piece that perhaps will convey my frustration that I feel that I am not allowed to do anything to help because of my whiteness and background. Its a scary endeavor because I've never been much of a craft-artist and this is thoroughly different than anything else I have done. So, fingers crossed, everything will go well.

Walk of Causes

An interesting take on video art/documentary, and bringing about awareness.



Follow these two documentarists on youtube as they publish new episodes weekly. http://www.youtube.com/user/walkingstars

Rant

Today we had our group critiques, and as i expected I received my usual push-back for what I'm trying to do in my MFA which is a subject of much debate in my mind as well. However, when I was asked the question, "Why are you even trying to get your Masters?" It forced me into this desire to rage a little bit, not at Edinburgh College of Art, but all Fine Art Institutions like the one I came from, Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle.

Let me see: I am here because I, like many privileged, causation, young Americans, have traveled to many places, met many incredible people and have seen things that obviously have got to change. But unlike many privileged, causation, young Americans, I actually want to do something about it instead of shake my head and say, "Well isn't that just too bad?" At the age of seventeen I was able to travel to Uganda and The Congo where I realized (somewhat) what I wanted to do with my life: I wanted to help, whatever way I can. But what can I do? I am a mere artist who was conditioned by society that I am only allowed to create compelling works of art shown to an illite and wealthy crowd who apparently are the only ones smart enough to understand it. Thinking these things made me depressed and feel useless. In the words of my Lebanese friend regarding the average person in poor and struggling countries, "No one gives a shit about Fine Art". Why I am here, trying to achieve my MFA, is to try to find out how art can coincide with helping people.

Delving into the messy pit of philanthropy or activism, or anything that has to do with "helping" those less fortunate is a scary endeavor. Scary because so many people, whether it be with good intent or ill will under the guise of good intent have done more damage than good. Because of this, people have become wary of attempting to help, or of people who wish to do so. But just because the idea seems impossible, does that mean we shouldn't even try? Without even waiting to see what I have done in the past, people tell me with a great deal of caution in their face, to be careful not to exploit anyone, step on anyone's toes and then question what my motives are or if I even have a right to do this. Others say that it is not enough to help the giant problems that affect people all over the world which grow worse by the day. One of my professors here at ECA even made a valid point by saying that a bandaid wont help an amputee.

But perhaps I am too much of a pessimist when I say the world is far too messed up for me or anyone to fix. And I have no intention of fixing an amputated limb. However, just because I am pessimistic enough to believe that the world is going to hell in a hand-basket, doesn't mean that I am not going to do the best I can to help the reverse. As a privileged, causation, young American, I have the ability to do a great deal, and I wish that more people would think the same way. If I can live my life knowing that I helped just one person, then that would be better than if I do nothing at all. 

Beginning of the Second Semester

            After a tremulous beginning at my school Edinburgh College of Art, I have come back from the States for Christmas, jet lagged, but ready to go! There is an art project that I began before I left Scotland about a month ago, that I feel obligated to finish, but now have lost the steam and inspiration to do so. However, being that I have a particular hatred of not finishing something that I have started, I will begin working on it, while I start new (and perhaps better) projects.

            This project, that I am less inclined to finish, is about how (in my opinion) people in the western world tend to shut off to what is happening in the world because of mass media which is filled with corruption and driven by money. It will consist of two video screens. One of the screens will be following an individual who lives somewhere in the western world. The backdrops will be paintings and the character will be still images that I place in these paintings. As it follows his or her life within a day, the viewer will see subtle images of actual issues that occur in the world in a familiar way, like posters, commercials, etc. The other screen will be live footage of the people and places that are being portrayed by the posters and commercials. Essentially the second screen is showing the viewer a closer look to what my character sees in passing.

            Another idea that I am more excited about is perhaps doing a collaborative piece. I am inspired by the Center of New Hope in the Democratic Republic of the Congo where children who have been suffering emotionally, physically and mentally due to the affects of war draw their experiences then tear up the paper and turn them into necklaces to sell and make money for their school fees. Being that this is an idea that just entered into my head, there is a great deal of research and thinking that I have to do before knowing exactly what it is I would be doing. Meanwhile, I will continue working on what I have started.