sketchbook

blog update (links + reading list)

2012-02-07T13:41:00.000-08:00

I've added a new "Links" page in the navigation bar for my bookmarked links (some are also categorized into stacks). There are many sites and articles that I'd like to share that don't require a full blog post, so I thought this may be a good way to include those in an unobtrusive way.

I've also added a "Reading List" page with my reading list from Goodreads. Books I'm currently reading appear at the top, while books I plan to read appear below.

This & That : "Mr. Nixon's Paper Standard" & "How Fake Money Saved Brazil"

2012-02-03T12:24:00.000-08:00

Newspaper article from New York Times, August 25, 1971

Planet Money: How Fake Money Saved Brazil

Artist link: Kurt Tong

2012-02-03T11:40:00.000-08:00

Kurt Tong, "Birdcage," digital c-print, 24 x 30 image: Jen Bekman Gallery & Hyperallergic.com

Hyperallergic's review of Kurt Tong: In Case it Rains in Heaven at Jen Bekman gallery

Groninger Museum

2012-01-25T07:40:00.000-08:00

I went to the Groninger Museum today and saw the exhibitions on Azzedine Alaïa, Studio Job, and Familie Verte (Chinese Porcelain). I have no issues with fashion and design being exhibited in an art museum, rather I welcome 'a leveling'. I appreciated seeing a level of craftsmanship, attention to detail, and an interest in form in Alaïa's designs that is often lacking in contemporary art. I didn't find the work of Studio Job particularly interesting. It seems to rely mainly on a shift in scale.

As seen in the Familie Verte exhibition, some museums have difficulty exhibiting Chinese ceramics. There seems to be this need to contextualize it in some way. While there are museums that do it successfully, the Groninger Museum and the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore are not examples of such museums. The Familie Verte exhibition is at the top of a flight of stairs. When entering, instead of seeing vitrines of porcelain, one sees corridors created through sheer curtains. The vitrines against the wall are lit with spotlights, but much of the work scattered amongst the curtains are lit with lamps with peculiar and very domestic shades. It seems that great care has been taken to make the space more cozy, and a bit romantic. This is still preferable to how the Walters Art Museum displays its Chinese and Japanese collection; in a victorian mansion connected to the main gallery that basically mirrors the colonialism that contributed to its acquisition.

Oddly, the Groninger Museum has no such difficulty exhibiting design without the extra additions. Keeping in mind that the museum has mostly colorfully painted walls and pedestals - dresses, coats, tableware, and candleholders are all displayed in a more traditional art museum context. In the wall text for Alaïa and Studio Job, the museum makes a clear effort to explain why these are art objects.

Groninger Museum

Familie Verte

The Walters Art Museum (Hackerman House)

Groninger Museum Wall Text

Groninger Museum Wall Text: "The Groninger Museum sees him as sculptor and an artist. . . "

Alaïa

Gallery goers watching a video of Alaïa's winter 2011 fashion show

Groninger Museum Wall Text

Groninger Museum Wall Text: "This is another aspect of their work that makes it more art than industrial design."

Studio Job

the rest of the photos:

Wallpaper Installation

2012-01-21T12:27:00.000-08:00

Bill Cunningham New York

2012-01-21T12:05:00.000-08:00

I saw a good documentary last night on Bill Cunningham.

film website

Photos: Mostly Berlin (some Groningen, a few Prague)

2012-01-21T11:52:00.000-08:00

Research Proposal

2012-01-15T07:34:00.000-08:00

I am finishing my first semester in the MFA painting program at the Frank Mohr Institute. In this research proposal I will be evaluating the results of my artistic research and practice over the past semester and outlining my plans for future studio and theoretical research pursuits.

These are exhibition views of the last body of work I completed before beginning my graduate studies. I consider these to be small monuments to key figures in my life both actual and fictional. I hoped the viewer would respond to the narrative within the mark-making process, a requiem created through a meditative action. For me these works are too much about the final object whereas my focus was actually in the process which I considered a meditative ritual of preparing for loss. What was problematic for me was the opacity of my own narrative. I want to make work that conveys more universal narratives and responds to larger events in the world. This work is personal and specific to me, yet the result is too referential to art objects.

A more universal narrative that is currently of interest to me is the notion of nesting, of creating a domestic space or a home. When I arrived in the Netherlands, the first thing I noticed was that most houses had picture windows. I've been thinking about "the picture window" off-and-on since I read Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates years ago. The following quote can be found on page 31 (Yates, Richard. Revolutionary Road. 3rd Ed. New York: Vintage Books, 2008.)

"Oh yes," April said as the house emerged . . . its outsized central window staring like a big black mirror. "Yes, I think it's sort of -- nice . . . Of course it does have the picture window; I guess there's no escaping that." "I guess not," Frank said. "Still, I don't suppose one picture window is necessarily going to destroy our personalities."

I think the image has stayed with me because it relates to painting, architecture and film. Through a large window, the inhabitants (and their possessions) are on constant display. Aside from the voyeuristic aspects (passersby can easily see into and all the way through the house), I was drawn to what the window symbolizes and how this symbol could be positive or negative depending on a person's values. My parents saw buying a house in the suburbs as an ideal, a necessary step to official middle-class status. Since my first encounter with "the picture window," it has appeared a few more times. Over the summer, I visited a friend's new house in Kensington, Maryland. From the street, the house's most notable feature was a huge picture window. Such windows are rare in Baltimore. The only time I've seen them in a private residence is if the building had a storefront window that was a remnant of its previous function. In the Netherlands, I noticed that people place objects (often symmetrically) on display, referencing a storefront. I found the window frame itself fascinating in its connection to painting, how it establishes interior/exterior space, with me being on the outside looking in. I was very interested in what people chose to display, how purchasing something was a statement (conscious or not) about status, taste, and social values.

Walking around Groningen, I began photographing windows. I made drawings form these windows and cut out the drawing so that only the lines remained. I wanted to invert how a window functioned to separate space and had a specific structure. In this way I was collecting windows. I became increasingly curious about the furniture and decorative objects people chose to place in their homes. I was looking at popular design blogs such as designsponge.com, remodelista.com, and desiretoinspire.net. I began collecting images of iconic or designer furniture. I liked this idea of compressed space and object, all these elements that people chose so carefully colliding.

One website I frequented was photographer Todd Selby’s theselby.com. Selby showcases the homes of his friends. These friends tend to be creative people - designers, musicians, hair stylists, DJs, etc. I went through all of the photographs and collected images of what these fashionable people collect. What motivates a desire to collect, to own variations of one thing? How does one create the category of what they collect? This need to acquire really interested me, as well as how the choice of what to acquire is intended to reflect a person’s taste. Ultimately, these “design blogs” were about taste. This led me to wonder about the function of collections or the act of acquiring. Often people collect functional objects and display them, removing their function. How does this affect the value of the object? That is, once a functional thing is removed from its function and used for decoration, is it worth less or more or does the value remain unchanged?

I began collecting, not only other people’s collections on theselby.com, but also images of work by artists like Mark Dion, Wolfgang Liab, Bernd and Hilla Becher, and Francis Alys who collect as a part of their artistic practice. I also searched for interior photographs posted on Facebook by people named Lu Zhang or Zhang Lu. I used my blog as a space to store my references which included current political news events and the latest auction results.

Beyond found images and online sources, I wanted to acquire an actual window frame. I was uncertain of what exactly I intended to do with it. It was for me of an undetermined function, but I acted on the urge to own one. I began my search by speaking with a worker installing windows on a house I passed by. This led me to various hardware stores, the wood studio at Academy Minerva, an architectural salvage place, building material suppliers, and a fellow student, whose father is an architect. His neighbor was renovating his house and may have been parting with his older windows. Eventually, I lost interest in actually owning a window and became more engaged in my experience of looking for one and the interactions I had a long the way.

This interest in social interaction and experience led to the first of three works:

The Brick Story
Brick Exchange (1, 2)
Dropped Vase (1, 2)

These three works all deal with the idea of an original and how many repetitions/copies add up to the original and if it can be considered an equal exchange. This connects to my interest in the idea of value - what gives an object value, is it monetary, is it sentimental? Is it paying a huge sum of money to own it, or sharing an experience such as laboriously copying it twice and cutting it out, or carrying it, or casting it in plaster, giving it away, and then visiting it everyday? What is ownership, is it giving a name to something? What is functional and what is decorative? Regardless of a painting or the intentions of its painter, if it is acquired to match a couch, is it’s function decorative? A brick is functional, a vase can be both functional and decorative. How does this translate to an art object? Is it in how it is displayed? After I returned my plaster version of the brick I was given, it disappeared a few days later. Maybe someone noticed that it was different from the others, and took it, giving it a different value if they then kept it and displayed it, or threw it away. Perhaps it is being used as brick, giving it a specific function separate of its art objectness.

In reflecting on my work this past semester, I notice that I am attempting to destroy the preciousness of what I make through dropping it on the ground, or giving it away, or not giving it physicality by describing an experience through a story. I believe this connects with what I found problematic in my previous work. Namely, that if what is being viewed is too seductive as an object, the viewer readily accepts its existence, its value. I still see common threads to my previous work. There is still the notion of ritual and a regimented process. There is a focus on language and storytelling, and identity as created through language. I have looked at the work of artists like Sophie Calle and Jan Rothuizen. I am interested in how they work with both the very personal and mundane and locate it in a more universally relevant context. Additionally, I think it is beneficial for me to see how artists who work with storytelling and language present their work.

While I consider my interests to be more in the realm of actions in the real world rather than a performance for a gallery audience, I would like to further explore how performances are documented and presented after they occur. In much of my past work I have dealt with how objects acquire value. When working on a series of drawings based on Chinese Opera costumes, I became interested in theatrical property. Wikipedia gives the definition that what essentially differentiates props from set decoration is their use by an actor to further the plot. While this definition may not be accurate in terms of contemporary theater, I find it relevant to themes of function and value. I plan to read more on objects in a theater context as well as on the fourth wall. From my understanding, the fourth wall is an imaginary wall that exists between actors on stage and the audience. This means that there is no interaction between performer and viewer and the audience’s sole function is to watch the performance. Contemporary theater breaks this fourth wall as actors will involve the audience in a more collaborative way. I believe this shift from spectator to actor to be relevant to my work. I estimate that my readings on performance and theater will involve internet sources and discussions with FMI scenography students and potentially the FMI scenography theory tutor. I expect that this line of research will be of secondary importance to other theoretical research on Neo-Materialism in an art context.

I found “Art and Objecthood” by Michael Fried, “Altermodern,” and excerpts from “On Relational Aesthetics” by Nicolas Bourriaud to be helpful in locating what I was interested in further discussing. However, all these texts were tangental to my specific interests. Claire Bishops’s response to Bourriaud, “Antagonism and Relational Aesthetics” was helpful in drawing attention to the need for awareness regarding exactly who the participants or audience members are. Ultimately, I found Joshua Simon’s three part essay on Neo-Materialism to be the most relevant. Published in e-flux journal, the three essays “Neo-Materialsim, Part One: The Commodity and the Exhibition,” “Neo-Materialism, Part Two: The Unreadymade,”and “Neo-Materialism, Part Three: The Language of Commodities” are a section from Simon’s upcoming book on Neo-Materialism. Simon’s discussion on Marx and the nature of commodities and art objects as commodities is relevant to my interest in value and function. Additionally, Simon discusses the work of Guy Ben-Ner, family as an economic unit, private domestic space, authority, money as a symbol, use and exchange value versus sentimental value, language, originality, and other topics very relevant to my own art theoretical research. Simon’s bibliography has proved useful in providing me with a reading list which includes “Everyday Life and the Culture of the Thing (Toward the formulation of the Question” by Boris Arvatov, “Art and Thingness,” by Sven Lutticken, “Art and Money,” by Boris Groys, and “The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State” by Freidrich Engels. By focusing on art objects as commodities, I think I can site my concerns as an artist in the context of economics and politics.

My blog will continue to serve as a database to document my progress. I will note my readings. The blog will also continue to be a repository for my collections. I am not able to predict what exactly I will be “collecting” as my collections thus far have varied greatly. Since I hope that my studio work is linked to what is happening in the world, I will continue to stay informed on political events, and art related news. Association is one important aspect of how I generate ideas and I feel it is important that there is a central and easily accessible location to store references.

In terms of practical research, I plan to continue to explore drawing with acrylic in a sculptural way. Recently, I have began working at a larger size yet still in a similar process to how I made the vase. I see these as practical experiments in order to better understand the material. I also intend to further explore color and why I rarely use it. However, it is challenging, and possibly futile, to plan my practical research in very detailed terms. As I have previously described, I generate ideas through association where chance and serendipity play a large role. For example, I recently made a wallpaper pattern using found text and images. In order to do so, I researched decorative wallpaper. The “making” occurred mostly on the computer. In the work where I replicated the brick I was given, I learned to create a silicon and plaster mold. My experience has been that once I have an idea of what it is I aim to make, I may need to learn some new technical skills in order to do so. I have found making smaller scale attempts and models to be beneficial in working out conceptual problems as well as time efficient. I intend to continue to use models in the coming semester. I hope to also make drawings as a side gesture that may enhance my studio practice.

studio update

2012-01-14T04:59:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted in a bit because I was traveling (Berlin + Prague), I'll update with those photo's once I've processed them.

I came back a week ago and have been busy preparing for an exhibition at deFKa. We visited the space before I left for Berlin. Since the building is already so far removed from a "white cube," I wanted to work with an especially awkward space. I ended up claiming a corner of a larger room with a radiator, a strange tile detail, and a wall cut-out. deFKA is located in what use to be a school. My first inclination was to respond to the institutional nature of the space with making it more domestic/cozy with sculptural drawings that referenced decorative objects and painting. I started with a rug but didn't think I'd have enough elements completed in time for the overall effect I wanted. I've decided to work with a wallpaper pattern (and jump on the bandwagon, see Bohl, Warhol, Vanderheyden). I've worked with drawing as wallpaper before but not using text. This is found text from UK propaganda during WWII. The last two posters (what appears in the pattern of the wallpaper) were seen by the public. The first one (Keep Calm and Carry On) was only to be released if England was ever occupied. The poster was later found and reproduced and is now ubiquitous. I found a Keep Calm poster at a store here in the Netherlands and purchased it. I framed it, and plan to hang it on the installed wallpaper. Photos of final install to follow.

original posters

deFKa site

Warhol at Hamburger Bahnhoff in Berlin

John Bohl installation at Nudashank Gallery in Baltimore

JCJ Vanderheyden at Boijmans Museum (photo: Lotte stekenlengburg)

my studio in Balitmore, drawn wallpaper study on back wall

digital pattern, drawn pattern, photocopied drawn pattern

final pattern A4 size

final pattern A3 size, decorative rug in process

Links / Currently reading . . .

2012-01-01T06:25:00.000-08:00

e-flux: Art Without Work? - Anton Vidokle

e-flux: Performing Objects, Narrating Installations: Moscow Conceptualism and the Rediscovery of the Art Object - Ekaterina Degot

Nicolas Bourriaud on Allan McCollum

2011-12-18T06:12:00.000-08:00

http://allanmccollum.net/allanmcnyc/Bourriaud.html

Research Presentation

2011-12-14T06:15:00.000-08:00

Research Presentation on Prezi

Boijmans Museum, Rotterdam highlights

2011-12-14T06:04:00.000-08:00

The highlight of my trip to Rotterdam was a visit to the Boijmans Museum which was exhibiting the work of Marijke van Warmerdam and JCJ Vanderheyden.

Marijke van Warmerdam,‘Couple’, 2010 and ‘Le retour du chapeau’, 1998 (film still)

Marijke van Warmerdam, Le retour du chapeau, 1998, film loop, colour, 1:31 min. (film still)

Press release

Marijke van Warmerdam – Close by in the distance
20 years of films and much more
29 October 2011 – 22 January 2012

Marijke van Warmerdam’s works have been shown around the world, from Venice to New York and from Sydney to Basel. This autumn Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen presents a major retrospective of her work curated by Jan Debbaut, former director of collections at Tate in London. This is the first large exhibition of Marijke van Warmerdam’s work in the Netherlands in ten years.

Marijke van Warmerdam (1959) is part of a generation of artists from around the world who have explored the potential of film as an artistic medium. Since the 1990s she has created a filmic oeuvre comprising various media: film, photography, sculpture, installations and, recently, painting. For Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen the artist has made a selection from her oeuvre together with Jan Debbaut.

Frozen poetry
Sustaining a moment in time, for example in film loops or in circular camera movements, is a central concern in the work of Marijke van Warmerdam. This freezing of time and space can be seen in her 16mm and 35mm films such as ‘Handstand’ (1992), ‘Skytypers’ (1997), ‘Le retour du chapeau’ (1998) and ‘In the distance’ (2010). She often chooses everyday subject matter such as cycling with no hands, a floating feather, aeroplane exhaust against a blue sky or a girl doing a handstand. Most of her films have no sound. Marijke van Warmerdam does not tell stories in her works but relies upon the visual power of the motif. Marijke van Warmerdam’s work has been described as ‘light yet sharp’ and ‘purely visual’.

photo: Lotte Stekelenburg, JCJ Vanderheyden model of 'In-sight'

photo: Lotte Stekelenburg, JCJ Vanderheyden 'In-sight'

Press release

In-sight
JCJ VANDERHEYDEN
24 September 2011 – 29 January 2012

More than twenty years after the retrospective exhibition of JCJ VANDERHEYDEN in the then ‘Museum Boymans-van Beuningen’, the artist VANDERHEYDEN is back at Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen with an installation in two galleries entitled ‘In-sight’.

At the end of September, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen will open an exhibition by one of the most important artists of the last fifty years: JCJ VANDERHEYDEN. The exhibition will be split across two galleries. One gallery will contain an open chest housing a collection of works. This chest is like a microcosm of the artist’s ideas. The second gallery will contain a selection of paintings, photographs and other works from the artist’s oeuvre.

Experimenting with new media
Around the age of thirty-five, Jacobus Cornelis Johannes van der Heyden (1928) began to experiment with film, black and white monitors and other new media. He is also well known for his experiments with photocopiers. He was one of the first Dutch artists to work with new media. VANDERHEYDEN became fascinated with making reproductions of reality and in the 1970s devoted himself increasingly to video, photography, painting and graphic techniques. The artist continually returns to the same motifs, constantly refocusing his vision of them. Director Sjarel Ex: ‘With each new adaptation, JCJ VANDERHEYDEN makes an image of an image. Extraneous material gradually disappears. What remains is the presentation of the studio as a housing for the imagination.’

studio bits / seminar

2011-12-05T02:42:00.001-08:00

brick update

2011-12-05T02:38:00.003-08:00

I bike by the pile of bricks every morning. On the third day, my brick was gone.

dropped vase 3

2011-12-05T02:38:00.001-08:00

Francis Alÿs

2011-12-03T02:21:00.001-08:00

I saw a really interesting documentary on Francis Alÿs a few days ago. Here's a few works I found on YouTube. I had seen his drawings and paintings in the Collection Lambert en Avignon, and was only recently introduced to the actions/videos.

currently looking at...

2011-11-29T07:58:00.001-08:00

brick exchange (documentation)

2011-11-29T02:41:00.001-08:00

Dropped Vase (1 & 2)

2011-11-29T02:40:00.001-08:00

currently looking at...

2011-11-27T11:11:00.001-08:00

Color, My Name is Red

2011-11-24T05:24:00.001-08:00

Recently (and many times before), I've been asked why I don't use color. The only times where color appears in my work is if the material I am using is inherently that color, for example the red wax from cheese that I used in Gift: 121 Days. I've never found a good reason to choose to work with a specific color. For me, choosing a color would be arbitrary. Formally, I'm more interested in form and mark-making and I think black/white functions best to that end. Additionally, I'm not occupied in creating the illusion of space. The space that I explore is quite literal.

a page from Orhan Pamuk's novel My Name is Red:

Hyperallergic Review by John d'Addario: Sophie Calle Brings Her Baggage to New Orleans (Prospect 2 Spotlight)

2011-11-22T13:46:00.001-08:00

just read a review of Sophie Calle's installation in New Orleans. There's something I like about the self-absorbed sentimental/melodramatic nature of her work (and she's a good story-teller)

Cheney Miniatures Baltimore Museum of Art

2011-11-22T13:41:00.001-08:00

Thought about this during my studio visit today:

Interview with Fumie Takahashi

2011-11-22T13:04:00.001-08:00

I recently interviewed Fumie Takahashi (a student in the Interactive Media and Environments program). I was first introduced to her work through a joint presentation workshop. Here's the text I wrote after the interview. I'm not sure that it fully describes what interests me about her work. I'm still thinking about it, but it has something to do with this inbetween experience she creates using very literal objects.

notes

2011-11-21T03:14:00.001-08:00

older auction 'news'

2011-11-20T13:56:00.001-08:00

This and That

2011-11-20T13:02:00.001-08:00

in progress (study/model)

2011-11-14T03:52:00.001-08:00

a story

2011-11-04T02:26:00.001-07:00

notes

2011-11-04T02:22:00.001-07:00

Currently Looking At...

2011-10-30T03:30:00.000-07:00

Collection: What the cool kids collect

2011-10-29T16:10:00.000-07:00

via the selby

Collection: Lu Zhang / Zhang Lu Facebook Interiors

2011-10-29T15:16:00.000-07:00

Mark Dion

2011-10-27T10:57:00.000-07:00

notes:

shadowing as method
history existing all at once
hiding treasure in middle ages followed by showcasing treasure in the renaissance
increasingly refined categories
cabinet of curiosities
vernacular architecture
a ruin gets better as it gets worse
nature as object versus nature as process

This and That

2011-10-27T08:06:00.000-07:00

Venice Biennale Revisited, Links + Videos

2011-10-27T07:58:00.000-07:00

Danish Pavilion

Jan Svankmajer

Hans Hoogerbrugge:

James Turrell

Christian Marclay (NYtimes review of The Clock)

Anish Kapoor

Swiss Pavilion Thomas Hirschhorn

Austrian Pavilion (Markus Schinwald)

Japanese Pavilion (Tabaimo)

Latin American Pavilion

Greek Pavilion (Diohandi)

Korean Pavilion (Lee Yongbaek)

window sketches

2011-10-26T07:29:00.000-07:00

sketches

2011-10-25T07:21:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to slow down the inclination to 'make art' and focus on collecting and making sketches. I plan on occasionally photographing whatever is around my studio. Today it looks like this:

Venice Biennale

2011-10-22T14:14:00.000-07:00

I just got back from the Venice Biennale, here are some photos. Though, much of it was video work that I didn't document. I was able to see Christian Marclay's The Clock which I missed when it was in NYC. It is awesome. Not everything is from the Biennale, there are some photos from Anslem Kiefer, Salt of the Earth, and some photos from an exhibition of student work.

studio visit with Eric Jan

2011-10-21T14:48:00.000-07:00

Eric Jan (our semester visiting tutor) suggested I look through my past work and see what connections I can find in it when I do not think about my own intentions. During my initial presentation, I explained that I want to move in a direction where my work is less about my own narrative and can translate more universally without it. I disliked how my past work functioned so formally without the 'explanation' or wall text. He suggested I reorganize my presentation by putting the images together in a different way that did not represent the chronology of their making, or my thinking. Both he and Ton (the other tutor) immediately mentioned systems and collections when they stepped into my studio (both on separate occasions). I'd been making 'things', not really sure where it is going. At the same time, I am reconsidering the making. It has always been important to me to make work, versus think of work. This was the main reason I returned to drawing when I studied abroad in France, I wanted to stay engaged and not just think then produce. Since being in the Netherlands, I have been seeing much more performance and interactive work, which necessitates engagement on the viewer's part as well. I'm not so sure I want to move in that direction, but I'd like there to be something more than the object.

what comes to mind when looking at my work as suggested:

how the pieces relate to the whole

subtle differences that make bits and pieces unique

covering and eluding to what isn’t there (no face behind the beards, writing covering form)

collections

accumulation

story telling

giving a name

daily/mundane

juxtaposition

symmetrical forms

contrast in surface

balance

circling back

cataloging

machine/function

mark-making

time and process of production

filling space, completion

hiding myself, creating distance
line
borders

still thinking about this news from a few days ago

2011-10-13T07:18:00.000-07:00

From CNN: Israel, Hamas sign deal for soldier's release
From Aljazeera: Hamas and Israel confirm prisoner swap

works in progress update

2011-10-08T02:02:00.000-07:00

collected photos: vinyl tablecloths

2011-09-26T04:21:00.000-07:00

Robert Smithson's Broken Circle / Spiral Hill

2011-09-19T07:45:00.000-07:00

This year is the 40th anniversary of Robert Smithson's work Broken Circle / Spiral Hill. I took the bus to Emmen to visit the site.

The Picture Window

2011-09-18T03:22:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about "the picture window" off-and-on since I read Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates years ago. The following quote can be found on page 31 (Yates, Richard. Revolutionary Road. 3rd Ed. New York: Vintage Books, 2008.)

A review/summary of the book can be read here.

Words that come to mind : suburban landscapes, the frame, the gaze, Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window, painting as a window. Through a large window, the inhabitants (and their possessions) are on constant display. Aside from the voyeuristic aspects, I was also drawn to what the window symbolizes and how this symbol could be positive or negative depending on a person's values. My parents saw buying a house in the suburbs as an ideal, a necessary step to official middle-class status. Since my first encounter with "the picture window", it has appeared a few more times. Over the summer, I visited a friend's new house in Kensington, Maryland. From the street, the house's most notable feature was a huge picture window. Such windows are rare in Baltimore. The only time I've seen them in a private residence is if the building had a storefront window that was a remnant of its previous function.

Now that I'm in Groningen, I see picture windows constantly. I'm not so sure the symbolism translates. They appear in row houses and apartment buildings that are still within walking distance of the "metro" areas. Here, the picture window may be less of a symbol of middleclass lifestyle, and more a practical way to absorb the infrequent sunlight. I'm not sure exactly where this train of thought is going, and if it will develop into new work. I've attempted to aquire a few of these windows. I was finally able to locate an architectural salvage place. Due to the historic nature of their windows, they will only sell them to people who show a photo of the window to be replaced. My other options are to find commerical builders or build them myself. At this point, I need to decide how critical it is that I use window frames versus a representation of a window frame.

MFA

2011-09-15T06:25:00.000-07:00

I moved to the Netherlands this September to begin my graduate study at the Frank Mohr Institute. One of the program requirements is that I keep a blog. Contrary to a previous post, I will continue to update this site, which will serve as an online sketchbook of my observations, research, and process.

A few photos of my studio and the building:

Exhibition photos of "Practice"

2011-09-14T06:57:00.000-07:00

Here's some photos of my solo show at C. Grimaldis Gallery in Baltimore. The press release can be found here.

lu-zhang.com

2011-07-14T07:39:00.000-07:00

I will no longer be updating this blog now that I've added a news section to my webpage.

Please visit the news section of my website for updates on upcoming events

Upcoming show at School 33 Art Center

2010-09-23T12:50:00.000-07:00

Graphite on Paper
Curated by René Treviño
November 12-December 31, 2010
Main Gallery
Opening reception, November 12, 2010, 6 to 9pm

A group exhibition of artists who employ graphite on paper in their practice, this exhibit will be a celebration of drawing. Since this show is using Graphite on Paper as it’s thematic current, preliminary drawings, sketchbooks, doodles as well as refined and “finished” works will be included. Matted and framed work under glass will hang beside sculptural work, video pieces and drawings that are thumb tacked to the walls. Graphite and paper are merely the starting point. The goal is an exhibit that has a wide breadth of approaches to the materials…humble materials that everyone has a basic understanding of, but materials that hold infinite possibilities.

Participating artists:

Alexa Brooks
Amanda Burnham
Todd Frye-Matte
Gary Kachadourian
Michelle La Perriere
Jan Razauskas
Juan Rodas
Matthew Shelly
Molly Springfield
Justin Storms
Elena Volkova
Tanya Ziniewicz
Lu Zhang

Upcoming Shows

2010-07-05T17:58:00.000-07:00

I have two group shows in July/August in conjunction with Artscape.

Drawing Out
The Hexagon
1825 North Charles Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21201
7/15 to 8/14
Reception July 15 6pm to 9pm

Bits and Pieces
Silber Gallery
Athenaeum Building
Goucher College
1024 Dulaney Valley Rd
Towson, MD 21204
7/6 to 8/8
Reception July 17, noon-2:30 pm

I'll post invites and images soon.

Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Award

2010-02-04T09:06:00.000-08:00

Thanks to the state arts council, I just received a $3000 individual artist award for works on paper.

Congrats to all the other recipients!

Baker Artist Awards

2010-01-13T20:15:00.000-08:00

It is that time of year again.

Please sign up to vote for your favorite Baltimore artist in the Baker Artists Awards. It would be extra awesome if that happened to be me.

The Baker Artists Awards celebrate Baltimore's artists on the Web with an ongoing exhibition of its diverse artistic practice. Two types of awards are given. The 3 Mary Sawyer Baker Prize winners are selected by a private jury and awarded up to $25,000 each. 5 other artists are awarded the Baltimore's Choice prize of $1000 each. This portion is open for public voting. All winners will be featured in a group show at the Baltimore Museum of Art.

The Baker Artist Awards:
http://www.bakerartistawards.org/

View my nomination:
http://www.bakerartistawards.org/nomination/view/lu_zhang

ArtReview interview with William Hogarth

2009-12-16T08:52:00.000-08:00

i like the rant on art schools from this 'interview'

Link to PDF

review of 'Sublime Structure' in ARTnews

2009-12-09T17:01:00.000-08:00

This month's issue of ARTnews (December 2009 Volume 108/Number 11) has a review of the group show "Sublime Structure" that I participated in at C. Grimaldis Gallery. Cara Ober of bmore art wrote the article.

Art Registry Group opening

2009-11-20T20:07:00.000-08:00

Erin Mackay and Jill Lubar of the Art Registry invited me to participate in a show they curated at a house on P street that was being sold through Sotheby's.

Open Studio Tours

2009-09-24T09:12:00.000-07:00

This year I will be participating in the annual School 33 Open Studios Tour. There is a reception on Friday Oct. 16. My studio will be open on Saturday Oct. 17th from 10 am to 3 pm, and on Sunday Oct. 18th from 1 pm to 6pm.

Hope to see you!

3233 O'Donnell Street
Baltimore, MD 21224

for more info go to the School 33 Website.

Photos from the Sublime Structure Artist Talk

2009-09-16T17:39:00.001-07:00

Sublime Structure article in the Baltimore Sun

2009-09-14T13:11:00.000-07:00

Here is an article on the show in the Baltimore Sun

sublime structure opening

2009-09-02T20:35:00.001-07:00

Sublime Structure Press Release (click image to read)

2009-08-29T09:05:00.001-07:00

Sublime Structure Opening Sept. 2

2009-08-29T09:01:00.000-07:00

September 2 - October 3

Opening Reception: September 2, 2009 6.00 pm -8.00 pm

Artist Panel Discussion: Saturday, September 12, 3.00 pm

Effie Halivopoulou
Kim Manfredi
Christopher Myers
Rachel Schmidt
Lu Zhang

Sublime Structure City Paper Write Up

2009-08-29T08:59:00.000-07:00

Sublime Structure
Tuesdays at 10 a.m., Wednesdays at 10 a.m., Thursdays at 10 a.m., Fridays at 10 a.m. and Saturdays at 10 a.m.
Opens Wednesday, September 2
Ends Saturday, October 3

Five artists use art to reveal their imagination and thoughts on the present and opinions about the future. (opening reception 6-8 p.m. Sept. 2)

Five artists, including City Paper contributor Christopher Myers, have come together at Grimaldis to present an uninhibited peek into their imaginations and their reflections on the present and opinions of the future. The independent search for the sublime has led each artist to diverse contemporary topics and emotions; the only aspect of the exhibit yoking the artists together is their openness to and incorporation of all necessary forms of visual aesthetics. Painting, photography, film, sculpture, drawing, and digital media are all expected from the artists, resulting in a multi-media menagerie. Virginia K. Adams will be leading a panel discussion on Sept. 12, and some of the artists (Kim Manfredi, Myers, Rachel Schmidt, and Lu Zhang) will also attend the opening reception tonight.(Nicholas Harsh)

Flickr Exhibition photos updated

2009-08-01T15:29:00.000-07:00

I've just added photos from the latest two shows at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/luzhang/

Grimaldis Summer 09 Group Show Opening

2009-07-01T13:05:00.000-07:00

Grimaldis Opening tonight!

Wednesday, July 1, 2009
6:00pm - 8:00pm

523 N. Charles Street
Baltimore, MD
410.539.1080

Summer group show artists:

Chul-Hyun Ahn
Henry Coe
Don Cook
Hidenori Ishii
Isaac Julien
Elizabeth Laudenslager
Dimitra Lazaridou
Eugene Leake
Neil Meyerhoff
Raoul Middleman
Christopher Myers
Christopher Saah
Rex Stevens
Rene Trevino
Costas Varotsos
Andy Warhol
John Waters
Lu Zhang

PAUSE Opening

2009-06-10T17:09:00.000-07:00

Thursday, June 25, 2009
6:00pm - 8:00pm

Stamp Gallery, University of Maryland, College Park
1220 Stamp Student Union
College Park, MD

PAUSE

2009-06-10T17:06:00.000-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

PAUSE is a group show featuring work by Elizabeth Crisman, Laura Hughes and Lu Zhang. Through a range of media, these three artists invite viewers to examine individual elements of larger narratives or events. Charged with meaning, the work serves as a meeting point of the unknown and the familiar, the concrete and the abstract.

Elizabeth Crisman uses X-rays of various body parts to create compositions that reference the evolution of human beings and the passage of time. Crisman received her BFA in ceramics and jewelry from the Virginia Commonwealth University and subsequently completed her MFA from the Graduate Photography and Digital Image program at the Maryland Institute College of Art. She recently was awarded an individual artist grant from the Maryland State Arts Council and attended an artist’s residency at the Vermont Studio Center in 2008. Currently, she teaches photography and art history at several Baltimore area colleges.

Laura Hughes uses a variety of materials including wood, glass, steel, foam and chalk to create site responsive installations. She was born in Buffalo, New York and moved to Baltimore, Maryland to attend the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2005. She received her degree in interdisciplinary sculpture in 2009, and is still living and working in Baltimore.

Lu Zhang traveled to China in 2006-07 where she sketched elaborate opera headdresses and studied the effects the current international art market has on contemporary Chinese art making. Lu creates pen and ink drawings, as well as sculpture. In 2004 Zhang graduated summa cum laude with a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art. She currently lives and works in Baltimore.

The show is curated by Alexandra Douglas-Barrera, Fernando Ramirez and Alison Reilly.

http://www.thestamp.umd.edu/gallery/

Hidenori Ishii

2009-02-28T14:42:00.000-08:00

I just saw Hidenori Ishii's work at Grimaldis Gallery. His surfaces are really beautiful. It seems that the types of painting I am most drawn to are those that have sculptural qualities. It isn't very apparent in the images, but the texture of the linen is visible though it obviously has been treated someway, maybe a glaze of some sort. There is a really nice contrast between the waxy matte finish and a high gloss finish. The edges of the painting have also been considered, which lends itself even more to being very sculptural. Here are some images off of the Grimaldis site.

New American Paintings

2008-12-30T20:25:00.000-08:00

I've been accepted to the New American Paintings Issue 81, mid-atlantic region. i think it is due out in april.

an experiment in color

2008-12-10T17:57:00.000-08:00

random photos from the studio

2008-12-07T08:55:00.001-08:00

rsg Miami dec. 2-7 booth b-17

2008-12-01T08:06:00.000-08:00

Randall Scott Gallery is taking some of my pieces to the Miami art fair. December 2 through 7 at booth b17.

water water everywhere

2008-09-23T21:04:00.000-07:00

I finished stretching 3 4X7 ' panels. I'm hoping to do 2 more at 4X6'. Right now, the 6 by 10 foot kiddie pool is taking up space in the studio. I'm not looking forward to trying to get all the water out of the pool. (hopefully that would mean its also out of my studio)

random pictures from my phone

2008-09-23T20:59:00.000-07:00

finally

2008-09-05T18:48:00.000-07:00

I've decided the plan for the next solo show. I have a lot of work ahead. the studio has been miserably hot as of late.

I'm going aim for 6 large pieces. 3 that are 4' X 6", 3 that are 4' X 7' i'm going to work on these stretched. I may cut them off the stretchers later and have them hanging unframed. frames are expensive and sometimes distracting. I need to work on them stretched though, because i will be working with washes and lots of water and i don't want wrinkles or bubbles.

i also have a plan for soaking the paper. I had been using my sad tiny bathtub. this resulted in "bruises" where the paper wasn't soaked evenly. I bought a kiddie pool. I have to give props to josh, who suggested it. I was thinking of making a complex plywood/tarp contraption. So, i'll fill up the kiddie pool in the studio to soak the paper before stretching it.

medium format holga photos

2008-08-11T19:24:00.001-07:00

medium format holga photos

2008-08-11T19:21:00.001-07:00

work in progress

2008-08-02T21:25:00.000-07:00

planning on doing more washes into it blended with line work to build up the depth

studio

2008-08-02T21:21:00.000-07:00

studio

2008-08-02T21:18:00.001-07:00

RSG opening and show

2008-07-12T13:45:00.000-07:00

here is a link to some photos

http://www.flickr.com/photos/luzhang/sets/72157605632864425/show/with/2581119047/

studio

2008-07-08T17:33:00.000-07:00

I will post some photos of my new studio soon. right now, i'm just anxious to get back to work. my grandmother was staying with me for a little over two months. It was great to have her here, but I didn't get a lot done in the studio. I'm hoping to be much more productive soon. Having a third floor studio with no ac isn't the best motivation either. My goal is to finish the 4 by 6 ft stretched piece that I was working on, as well as start something new that is more sculptural.

Interview on bmoreart

2008-06-13T14:21:00.000-07:00

cara ober interviewed me for bmoreart. There are a few photos from the opening too.

http://www.bmoreart.blogspot.com/2008/04/lu-zhang-at-randall-scott-gallery.html

distracted

2008-06-13T14:14:00.001-07:00

i've been a bit distracted (again) lately. We moved into a new place and have been getting settled. I was also preparing for a solo show in April-May. I will have photos from the opening up soon. Since the show came down in the end of May, I've taken a bit a time away from the studio to regroup, do some reading, and be a bit domestic about the new house. Neville and I got engaged the day after my last post.

I'm hoping to make it into the studio soon. My grandmother had a bit of a health scare a month back, she is staying with me now. She will be leaving to stay with my parents the first week of July. So, I'm hoping to get a good studio month in July.

I'll also be updating my website, finally.

artist book

2008-02-02T13:17:00.001-08:00

I have a new project that i'm starting on. i am designing and printing a book of the rings I made in france off of blurb.com. It will be mostly a photo book, with the statement in the front, and every following page showing each ring. for 121 pages.

new work by chen jiao

2008-01-28T18:37:00.000-08:00

here's a piece my friend chen jiao did while in germany.

the BMA

2008-01-28T18:08:00.000-08:00

I've been in the studio a lot.. but now i feel like i'm in a bit of a rut. I'm not sure where the most recent work is going. I decided to go to the Baltimore Museum of Art on sunday to see if there was anything inspiring.

two things come to mind:

one was a series of miniature interiors in the Cheney room. There were a lot of them, done in beautiful detail. I especially liked the ones that where suppose to be storefronts. you would be looking into a shop from the street. The scale was 1 inch to 1 foot. Interesting how there is something desirable/seductive about gazing in on these shiny new objects hanging for display. I remember as a child how much I wanted a dollhouse with those small antique looking objects. Yet, there was always something sinister about it too.

the second was a piece by John Pierre Gauthier called Uncertainty Markers 3. I've included an image of another one of his pieces (i was unable to find an image of the piece at the bma) the piece was essentially a drawing machine. which in itself is not that remarkable anymore in art, but there is still something about "kinetic sculpture" there was a certain grace yet awkwardness to the way the machine moved. It was essentially using a piece of lead to draw on the wall. Itself acted as sort of a fulcrum for these two pulleys to guide it. It would fall freely and then be jerked back up, creating three adjoining curved triangles. I still love work that so clearly shows the process. there was something poetic about it. the drawing apparatus itself was sort of a tragic figure, the attempts futile. endless. meaningless.

2007-12-26T20:04:00.001-08:00

Obviously I have been having trouble maintaining this 'sketchbook' as of late. I expect that I will always have trouble maintaining this, as I'm realizing this process is still very private for me. unlike a trip to china, not something that is easy for me to share. I think I was in a certain creatively generous mood when I started this. It is way too easy to start a blog these days. I intended for this to be motivational for me to transcribe things out of my head, therefore forcing me to process thoughts/ideas that may ultimately be worth exploring further. But, I think I may be too selfish/private/paranoid for all of this. i'll give it a few more tries, sharing pieces that aren't finished is very difficult, sharing ideas that aren't pieces yet is even more difficult.

so, maybe i should be a bit more abstract. abstraction serves as a good blurring filter over reality.

i saw a man today. his beard was beautiful. it seemed to be woven, turned in on itself where his sideburns connected, making a fine torquing line that vanished under his turban. i was told later that what in fact there was a net underneath, close to his face. his facial hair was actually wrapping around so that it could lay inside the net.

long overdue....

2007-11-23T18:31:00.000-08:00

this is probably the longest i have gone without a post. mainly because we have been doing a lot of posting at theraceshow.blogspot.com the show turned out really well. and actually started an interesting discussion as to why there were no black artists represented in the show. it has died down a bit unfortunately, i am leaving town for awhile tomorrow so will not be able to "revive" the discussion much. I was surprised at the turnout. It was great that so many people came out to an opening at a more out of the way space. Emily was incredibly helpful during the whole process. and Briana has been great about organizing viewings with people. Glenn McNatt of the Baltimore Sun and Jack Livingston of RADAR both saw the show. Both wanted to do interviews. I explained that I could meet with them but would also like some aspect of the interview to involve the other artists and ivanny, my co-curator. The artists hail from many cities, including miami, nyc, pittsburg, baltimore, philadelphia, and amsterdam. In the end though, I couldn't work my schedule out to meet with either of them due to a big project deadline at work and my lack of transportation due to the wreck I had the night before the opening. Now I am going out of town. The Whole Gallery is great because it is a venue where more experimental and risky shows are possible. However since it is also a living space, it does it tricky to organize viewings between several people. I wish the show were more easily accessible to everyone, however, i'm still not sure of a space that will give so much freedom and is also easily accessible.

2007-10-22T17:13:00.000-07:00

I've seen a lot of drawings/paintings lately that remind me of my own work. I suppose it reiterates this idea of the collective unconcious that we all draw from or respond to. I've tried to think what seperates my own work from others that have similar compositional dendencies/imagery/etc. I think ultimently it is a matter of specificity in relation to the ultimate, sometimes icon like image. I think my work is very specfic. Every mark I make refers specifically to itself, to its placement, movement etc. Nothing is gestural. Though the ultiment image is often very ambiguious, the minute componants are themselves specific. This is probably a manifestation of the great pain i take to make every line, which is often a result of a lot of deliberation. In this sense, I no longer see my work as containing action in any form, or as a narrative. (unless the narration is that of my process). The resulting image is in my mind, very stable. In the sense that it is a result of much deliberation and intention and I must see it is complete and "perfect" in order to not continue working on it. An issue for me is how precious the page is for me. I see this as a fault. It is very difficult to make a mark on a blank page, then another and another. It is difficult to determine a heirachy in terms of which marks are the most important, the darker ones? the longer ones? the central ones? the more deliberate ones? the less deliberate ones?, the small ones? those grouped closer together so they look stronger? those spread further apart so they encompass more space? those made last since they have more history?

new studio, new works in progress

2007-09-30T09:38:00.000-07:00

i switched my 2nd studio and my bedroom to have a larger space.

new works

2007-09-21T08:30:00.000-07:00

by february i'm hoping to complete:

3 beard drawings
3 opera drawings
2 tile pieces
3 4x4 ft. drawings
2 3X5 ft drawings
20 small dense drawings

so far, i've completed, 2 beard drawings, am working on the 3 opera drawings (each one is about 50% done), am working on tile pieces. and have done lots of 18x24 drawings.

i will scan and post images to my website soon.

the race show website

2007-09-21T08:27:00.000-07:00

i put up the race show website, www.theraceshow.blogspot.com

there isn't much yet. i'm hoping to link it to each artist's own online portfolio, and get some images up.

i'm working on the postcard/press release now.

lomo photos

2007-09-06T18:07:00.000-07:00

here are some photos i took on my lomo camera. i just got a holga with a color filter flash.

new work

2007-07-29T20:20:00.000-07:00

as for me, i am still working on the opera series. i've been working on one piece i'm very excited about. it's of an opera beard. i really enjoyed drawing the hairs, and am thinking that i will move in that more specfic direction, and work with different opera hairstyles as well. i'll include a photo soon.

the race show

2007-07-29T20:13:00.001-07:00

i'm co-curating a show in november at the whole gallery. The whole gallery is a large artist run space on franklin street. we will have to organize and publicize it all, but the artists will each keep a hundred percent of sales.

here is the blurb i have asked artists to respond to.

Identity art is a well-established genre that has produced much debate and written discourse. Much of the resulting work tends to rely on, thus ultimately perpetuate, common stereotypes. This show collects art not about one’s self but about others. The typical formula has been reversed in order to illustrate other people, cultures and identities. Artists will inhabit a space between what they know of their own culture/ ethnicity/political or moral beliefs and how they or their ideas are interpreted by another typically more dominant culture. Artists of many cultural, racial, religious and political backgrounds, using mediums just as varied, have all created works assuming the perspective of someone else. To express oneself is a natural impulse. In order to attempt to express another, these artists have purposefully put themselves in a position where morality and ethics are virtually impossible to uphold and where distortion and misrepresentation is inevitable.

the opening is scheduled for November 2nd.

there will be artists participating from philly, baltimore, and new york. I'll be posting information on it when it gets closer.

opening pics

2007-07-12T20:42:00.000-07:00

these are some pics from the anonymous show opening in d.c. sorry it's taken so long to post, have been busy

microscope

2007-06-26T19:56:00.000-07:00

i want to buy a microscope so i can look at cells. here's one i'm looking at. it has up to 1000X magnification.

studio b

2007-06-24T05:25:00.000-07:00

i recently made the dining room into another studio. so, now i have two small studios. still not enough space to step back and see the large works. maybe the living room is next?

website update

2007-06-23T19:58:00.000-07:00

i've finally finished putting everything online. so, now i'll be done until i make new work. to see the new stuff directly: http://lu-zhang.com/picasa.html