Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre

 

Been looking at a lot of different artists for inspirations for my drawings. Two artists that I looked at last semester were Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre. What I like about these artists are the rich photographs of the contemporary ruins they visit. Their photographs gives me a lot of content when I draw interiors or exteriors of contemporary spaces. One of their photographs in their series The Ruins of Detroit gave me direct inspiration for the composition of the drawing content of my first drawing. If there is anyone else who draws inspiration or wishes to look at the decay of urban environments I definitely suggest you check out these guys. 

 http://www.marchandmeffre.com/

 

 

Pre-Raphaelite Paintings

I was doing research for 20^th Century Art, and I came across a documentary on the Pre-Raphaelites Narrated by Andrew Lloyd Webber. I have seen some of their work before, but I have never had the opportunity to study their work in detail. The narrative of their painting, and their use of color and brush stroke reminds me of my own work.

The Pre-Raphaelite’s were very interested in human narratives painting topics, such as “history, myth, legend, religion, mortality, and above all, psychological drama.” They were interested in taking art and giving it back to the people, studying painting and engravings made before artists like Raphael began painting idealized portraits for the wealthy noblemen of the church. They used people they knew as models, creating realistic portraits within their narrative, rather than creating idealized figures.

The documentary is very interesting, check out the link below:

Documentary on Pre-Raphaelites

Paper Clay on the Trunk!

I created some paper clay from some cheap toilet paper, joint compound, and wood glue. This was the second batch where I added white paint to get rid of that puke yellow color. Definitely going to paint  it with acrylic. I'm stuck on adding another section to the trunk, I think it could work a lot better taller because it could act as shade and bring the viewer closer. I'm going to split each branch up top into two as well.

Tilt shift video

I thought Jarek would like to see this even and I do not know if he could use it or if he already knows about it but i thought I would post it anyway. I remembered this from when I read it two years ago and it popped into my head when we dispersed from class today.  http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2014-09-17/tilt-shift-video-from-the-tokyo-city-observatory-makes-the-city-look-like-a-toyset/.78885 

Exhibition ideas

I did some research over the weekend trying to examine how I could go about exhibiting my project, as well as looking into how I could approach the difficult concept of using found/appropriated photos in my project, since it has already come with some backlash from people.

I found some references from a few artists who exhibited a little differently. First was a photographer from Hong Kong named JC who exhibited his photos by clipping them onto wires hung throughout the gallery.  Since I'm searching for a different approach to the exhibition process, I really enjoyed looking into his methods.

Becky showed me an artist named Lorna Simpson as well, who incorporates found photos in her works, as well as a collage-d way of exhibiting her works.  1957-2009 is a work I found particularly interesting - Simpson came across a set of old found photos of a model and a man.  She re-created the photos herself, and framed and hung everything together as one. All the photos are small and framed tightly together, inviting the viewers to come in and try to figure out which are the originals and which are the re-creations.

Simpson also exhibited some works that were framed as collages, incorporating found photos in her works, incorporated with ink drawings and plates of brass.

Simpson's ways of working and her exhibitions, as well as her incorporation of found photos in her work is really intriguing.  The appropriated photos make sense in her works.  It's something I can take into consideration when trying to figure out how to play found photos into my work.

I solved the wrist

I found some clock parts in one of my jewelry supply drawers that would make a good wrist. I intended them originally for a vambrace or staff when stuck the three components together but could never find a good spot for them in any of my work...... I guess I finally found one.

Permanence vs Transcience

Hi everyone,

Last week I mentioned Buddhist sand mandalas as a source of inspiration. These mandalas are created over the course of days or weeks and then wiped away once they are completed.

http://www.visualnews.com/2015/11/04/3-creative-lessons-from-buddhist-monks-who-make-mandalas/

I also mentioned the oil painter Dennis Wojtkiewicz. His work explores fruit and light under close observation.

http://twistedsifter.com/2013/01/translucent-fruit-paintings-by-dennis-wojtkiewicz/

Both the sand mandalas and Wojtkiewicz's work take an immense amount of concentration and dedication. They are both based on colorful radial patterns and are dedicated to showing the transient nature of reality. Is oil paint an appropriate medium for art that is intended to communicate the short lived and empty nature of things?

My first piece

JThe first piece I'm working on is a mechanical arm prosthetic. Since I'm working with the idea of monstrosities I am not obsessing over mimicking the full look of the human arm. I am however keeping this first piece basic simple and straightforward. I am however kind of stumped on what to do with the wrist and the hand so I'm open to ideas. The elbow is going to be felt with using simple hinges. And I'm solving the left over negative space in the elbow with industrial flexible tubing that will give it a sense of interconnected internal circuitry. 

Architectural Trees in this video.

Tyler, take a look at this. Nature with a hard edge look, yet still the softness.  https://vimeo.com/151931854

Steampunk Hand Sculpture by onurcayliart

I was scrolling through my Facebook feed and came across this video on a page called Steampunk Tendencies that posts about all things steampunk, including architecture, art, and cosplay. I was instantly reminded of what Joe wants to do for his Senior Studio.

This is an example of steampunk sculpture that looks like it could work and move, but doesn't necessarily have to. I am actually not sure if it does or not, but if you watch the video on the link, there are some elements on the sculpture that have moving dials and such that make the sculpture more believable. 

Also the element of the real hand is interesting. I don't know if Joe was planning to make a sculpture that was wearable as cosplay or ornamentation, or if it was going to be more of a prosthetic. This sculpture seems to incorporate both, where the hand and the sculpture are melded together. Obviously, you shouldn't permanently do this to your own hand, but there is the interesting possibility of adding a human flesh looking element to the steampunk limb sculptures, where the resulting product could look part human flesh and part machine.

Check out the link below:

https://www.facebook.com/SteampunkTendencies/videos/933782190069481/?theater

Welcome!!

This blog will document the thoughts, hopes, and dreams of UMass Lowell Art and Design department students taking the studio concentration version of Senior Studio. Some are intending to graduate this spring while others will be taking the second class in the fall and graduating then. I hope you enjoy, as you watch some incredible young artists document their process of creation. -Michael

The image below was taken on Tuesday. This post-it was in one of the senior studio spaces.