HD in gallery 100 show Review. Connor McShane

I recently went to an art opening for graduating intermedia students, the show, named HD, consisted of a very wide spectrum of different styles, mediums, and concepts of art. The show, although very interesting and visually stimulating, it seemed to be all over the page and together as a whole the works didn't communicate with each other in any way. As for the 3D works within the show, there were two small sculptures. Made from foam and epoxy the two three dimensional works somewhat stood alone from the rest of the works. The artist which made the sculptures worked primarily in printmaking foam and epoxy, throughout the artists prints and sculptures the subject matter seemed to only be small characters and an obsession with rollerblading. Which to me seemed to be her personal interests and her visual representation of them. Upon reading the the artists statement for the show, I only became more confused, she tried to explain that she wanted a connection which represented a triangle, which in lamest terms was a connection between the artist, the work, and the viewer. She continued to explain that she portrayed emotion through bold thick lines, and her use of stroke. I was able to see the emotion portrayed within the works, but was unable to feel any connection to the artist herself. This I felt was ineffective on her part, and I was unable to bridge the gap between me and the artist through her works.

Besides the feeling of disorganization, and no connection between the multiple works within the gallery, alone each piece was very successful and altogether the show left an impression within my mind.

A trip to the Phoenix Art Museum

Over at the P.A.M there were so many options for me to chose. But the one that stood out the most to me was one that seems to get overlooked the most. Down the hall leading to the Arcadia Farms restaurant (next to the Museum store) I saw a piece by artist Louise Nevelson. At first it wasn't at all what I expected because typically what most people (myself included) know most from this artist are his large scaled pieces that appear as multiple shadow boxes filled with various items and then painted one solid color. In fact, P.A.M does have one example of such works.
But this sculpture Untitled was the opposite. It was small, and austere. There was nothing that would make a viewer get that instant "Wow" moment as most of Nevelsons other works would, yet something about it held my interest. Its title I felt was fitting because the subject matter itself was uncertain so how could a person give it a full title. It appears to be a representation of a human figure. But is he resting, or ready to get up and go some where? I think that is what I like most about this piece. It is mysterious and I (the viewer) am able to continue the story of this figure.
- Tina O.

Bisque Without Borders

I went to the Ceramics Research Center and saw the Bisque Without Borders exhibit. It was incredible because of all the detailed pieces involved. The intricate detailing drew you into the pieces individually and as a whole. They really made you look at each piece carefully. I loved that each thing had so much to offer when looking at it. It made me think about many different things. I constantly thought about what the artist was thinking when he made the pieces. I would highly recommend that everyone check this out.

Shining CIty

I also went to the Shining City MFA show. I found it a very intriguing collection. The point I felt the artist was trying to make was very obvious as to how it relates to real life. The artist talked about how the government keeps telling people to support the US by continuing to buy stuff in order to help the economy. His point was that as people are doing this, they neglect to see the monster that is ravaging their cities. He showed this through a "window" in the back wall through which you could see a monster made up of commercial businesses attacking the city on the hill. I really enjoyed the message and the way the artist created the way to portray it.

ShiningCity: An MFA Thesis Exhibition by Sebastian Wittig

I decided to visit Sebastian Wittig's ShiningCity exhibition for this weeks review. It was a lot different than most exhibitions I've seen in the Harry Wood Gallery and it deals with propaganda that is being used as distractions to cover up social issues that go on in the world. It is set up just like a convenient store with items for sale. Each item represents a "distraction" and the price is a date related to that social issue. I grabbed a product guide that explained every product in the store. For example, one of the products was called MeXoBlamin. The product guide description states:

"We are in the news with one of the biggest distractions of the year. When an unelected governor has no track-record and stands for election, there's an easy way out: it's the Mexican's fault, those illegal invaders who take our jobs, steal our stuff, and... mow our lawns.

The amount of verbiage that we were bombarded with was amazing. Illegal Canadians were to be targeted as well, we were told. Navajos, on the other hand, were exempt.

The governor was elected. For the first time."

The price is listed as $10.70 which relates to SB1070.

Elise Deringer: Perception and Passage

For this week's art exhibition review, I am writing about Elise Deringer's show in the Harry Wood Gallery on ASU campus. Elise is a graduate student studying fibers, and this was her thesis show. I took some time before the class visited her show to view her work on my own. She joined the use of silk fabric and various combination's of salt, sand, concrete, and spices to create individual pieces that cohesively fit into the entire show. Elise elaborates on what her thought process was behind her work in her artist statement. She says her work is "... a record of a few small steps on a long path, and left open for understanding.".

Structurally, the pieces evoke a soft and ethereal tone. They are hung in various ways. Her piece titled "Metamorphosis" forms a wave pattern that creates an intriguing three dimensional movement. This was also my favorite piece of hers, as she created cyanotypes (using sunlight to develop an image on a surface) on the silk. Her pieces, as a collection, make up various forms of nets, containers, and filters. Her use of silk in order to construct these forms is very impressive, as silk is a soft, delicate fabric. I like how this quality contrasts with the sturdy, supportive forms they make up.

Ceramics Research Center

I decided to visit the Ceramics Research Center for this week's blog post. It was my first time visiting it. Although the place was a bit smaller than I thought, the works there did not disappoint. There were so many work displayed around the place that it almost felt overwhelming. One work that caught my eye immediately was a work by Robert Arneson, titled, "In Pursuit of the Asian Gilda" (1981). It is basically a giant head of an Asian woman. Her hair is done in a style that a Geisha would typically wear (I uploaded a picture to help visualize. It isn't the actual piece of work). Her skin is yellow, which is often associated with people of Asian descent, and her eyes are squinty. One thing I found odd about this piece was that there is one finger attached to each end of her eyes. There is no hand, so it looks as though the fingers are just floating there. The first word that popped in my head was creepy. The head was a very large mass. It looked heavy. Her eyes are not filled in. They're empty holes, so you literally stare into her eyes, which gave me the shivers after I did that. One thing I liked about it was that the artist did not try and make her skin smooth and perfect. There are lines, cracks, spots, and other marks all over her skin which adds a sense of texture. Overall, I thought it was very well rendered.